Sarah Elly
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kept

 

Personal project and book series I have been creating using my mothers home video footage and audio recordings from the 1960s. I want to explore the nature of memory and the way it is preserved through those who follow us. Stories are some of the most delicate and precious things we carry with us, especially the ones that don't belong to us.

Kept

I created this personal project using Super 8 home videos and audio recordings from my family while they lived in Tawain during the 1960s. I was struck while looking through this old footage at the weight of my responsibility to carry memories and stories from the people who came before me, and began to wonder if memories could be inherited somewhere deep within our DNA. My grandparents are heavily featured in this piece and were both suffering from Alzheimers while I was working on this. The creation of this piece felt cathartic by taking things that have been lost or forgotten and breathing new life into them. Through this process I am keeping their stories alive within me.