Material Memory

Six articles of clothing are hung and installed throughout the gallery space and are accompanied by an audio clip, a gallery text, a fan, and a piece of sheer, white organza that hangs over the door frame. The articles of clothing include a pair of scuffed oxfords, a white button down dress shirt, and a red knit sweater with its arms extended out from its bodice, as loose threads dangle off of it. A pair of trousers sit against the wall beside a stretched black turtleneck, while a cast away sock lays on the floor. The fan blows through the garments as it rotates, briefly filling them with motion and gesture. However, this 'liveliness' is simultaneously restricted by the fixture of the clothing. The pieces are installed in ways that symbolize remnants of both the body and mind, as well as the correlation between presence and absence—all as a result of a traumatic memory. Through the silhouettes of the clothing, each piece takes on a ghostly demeanour—of which the gallery text further alludes to. However, it is ultimately left to the viewer to impose their own notions of trauma and memory on to the clothes themselves. As the articles can be perceived as one deconstructed body or six separate pieces, the installation aims to speak to both individual and collective experiences of trauma and the ways in which these memories can ultimately be embedded and re-called through our clothing. 

Using Format