"REMEMORIES plays with memories from anonymous persons, proposing a singular approach through reinterpretation."

>>>> Discover more information on this project on my website: [link]

>>>> You can contribute to REMEMORIES, if you wish: [link]

----- memory #12 ------

we used to go to a lake in wisconsin; it was in adam county, and i cannot remember the name, but it seemed like a brown ocean, vast and dotted with tiny islands. papi had a platoon boat, he would fish while i baked in the summer heat, staring into the water that reminded me so much of muslin. our wake would break cohesion, and i could count the glimmering stitches that turned back into a single, undulating sheet. embroidered shadows lived beneath the surface, coming and going, breathing art, and i dipped my fingers into the water, always surprised it was fluid. papi would get drunk and tell me he loved me. i don't have a good relationship with my father, and these are my best memories of him. the lake, his stained white tank top, the yellow sun, the scent of cheap beer, his stubble- he hugged me once, let me sit on his lap and taught me how to tie a fishing knot. i stared at the water and thought of fish, seaweed, what might have lived on those islands- i still get emotional when i think back.
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REMEMORIES : Project description.

“I would like you to remember an important personal event, something that still seems important to you today. Actors will then reinterpret your memories.”

From May to August 2012, several anonymous contributors answered my request (through a webpage that described the project), giving me lots of short texts to work on.


Nostalgia, happiness or traumas formed the main components of these numerous memories, from which actors and dancers experimented to create something new, without trying to be literal but keeping the emotions and ideas of the texts. I didn’t wanted to simply reenact the memories (the original texts would have been sufficient for that) but to go beyond them and create singular photos with some freedom, for both actors and me. That is why most of my usual themes are apparent: ambiguity, mysterious symbols and a non-naturalistic approach to the link between bodies and their environment – all of which being freely interpreted by the viewers.

Places are also linked to this idea of “memories”: second-hand bookstore, vintage furniture shop, museum... all these interesting spaces add originality, preventing the actors from simply recreating the description of these recollections.

Finally, when submitting a message, all participants have accepted to let me publish their original text next to the photos. I’ve simply numbered them in chronological order, publishing them in their original language.

REMEMORIES is an on-going project that should be completed by October 2012.

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(c) 2012 JS Monzani / jsmonzani.com. Please do not use any of my images without my agreement. LEGAL ACTIONS WILL BE TAKEN IF YOU DO NOT RESPECT THIS COPYRIGHT