SHADI YOUSEFIAN

Memories series (2012 - 2014)

In her Memories series, Shadi draws from the idea that though memory is essential to our understanding of our contemporary selves, one also has to let go of aspects of the past in order to be fully present. In this series, Shadi uses photographs from old photo albums and cuts out faces of family and friends that have stuck in her mind throughout the years; she separates them from the environments and elements that have faded away. These photos are then layered with sheets of transparent paper to show the fading quality, and to suggest the passage of time. While the images and faces are visible, and recognizable, they are muted, almost to a dreamlike quality so that they show that fading too is a process for the viewer. The photos, often quite small, are placed in a small plastic bag or fabric pouch, and mounted on wood panels. The effect is to both preserve this archive of sentiments and attachments, but to also show how difficult it is to focus on and linger on one specific sentiment. Her work in this series evokes a holistic approach—the idea that represented in each memory, each face is the entire composition of a life. It is a lifetime of attachments that makes us human and whole, but we can only grasp it through a re-viewing of our memories.