[Soy] Mis Memorias is an immersive installation by Andreina Davila that touches on issues of personal identity and the fear of Memory Loss. The piece questions the notion that we become the compound of memories we collect (and remember) in the course of our lives.
Part of “Imagining Time, Gathering Memory: Día de los Muertos 2013” at Somarts Cultural Center in San Francisco, this piece is not about the corporal loss of our bodies, but a reflection on how memories live in our mind, constantly constructing (and reconstructing) the image we have of our life and ourselves. [I Am] Series.Opening reception with live music & performance this Friday, October 11, 6–9pm at 934 Brannan St. (between 8th & 9th). The show will be up until November 10th.
Part of the Installation (work in progress) This does not show the right lighting, the show starts on Friday, October 11th.
A few months ago, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. My husband, my son, and I have experienced the painful gradual loss of her memory and in a way, the banishment of the persona she used to be. Her diagnosis has had a profound impact on our family, and personally, it has made me question the place memories have in our lives. Memories work as anchors and connectors, creators of realities. We associate the memory of something with reality. Our whole sense of existence seems to hinge on what we remember.
What happens if we stop remembering? Do we become nothing?
The gradual entanglement and loss of memories in somebody you care about is a heartbreaking and frightening experience for everybody involved. It embodies the slow death of the person as she or he fails to recognize themselves and their connection with their world. So, what happens if we document our memories? Are we safe then?
Selection of family photos to illustrate Nancy Colina’s memories (my mom)
[I Am] My Memories ([Soy] Mis Memorias) shows a collection of important “key” memories of my mother Nancy Colina, who (among other concerns) fears to suffer the same fate my late grandfather had, being diagnosed with dementia at age 60. In support of the creation of this piece she listed key moments in her life, and worked with me to recreate her story through the use of old family photos and text. You can read her own reflections (in spanish) on the place memories have in our lives in this article she wrote for Guayoyo en Letras: “Los Picaros Momentos de la Memoria”
[I Am] My Memories is an adaptation of a hanging sculpture I did 2 years ago. This time, in the context of the fear for memory loss, it acts as a shell to contain memories that we associate with our personal identity. This piece is part of the [I Am] Series, a collaborative study of portraits of Egos or Identities, in an attempt to “put a finger on” what makes us who we are.
Short (& Crappy)
Instagram Videos: (I promise better videos and photos)
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[button link=”http://andreinadavila.com/i-am-series-iii/” color=”silver”] [I Am] Series [/button]
An ongoing collaborative study of portraits of Egos.
Latin for “I”, Ego is the sense of self that is constantly attempting to define our personal identity so that we can distinguish ourselves from others: the set of labels or forms used by our minds to build identity. Central to this study is the recognition that our conceptual identity is NOT who we are, but a mere attempt to understand reality, which -as we know- is a relative concept. “I Am” explores the relation between our individual need for identity (our ego) and the transcendence of that conceptual connection over time. By embracing the plural and constant nature of our Ego, and isolating the forms or labels we use to grasp reality, I hope to de-clutter the entanglement of information creating room for personal and collective awareness.