STUDENT SHOW: MEMORYSCAPES

Memoryscapes is a joint student show between first year Sanie Irsay, and BFA Art Media & Technology student Maureen Muse.

Is it ever possible to re-trace a memory? How do our memories define us? Even if we don’t remember, is there still a permanent imprint residing in our minds? These are the questions explored in Memoryscapes, a collaborative exhibition by Sanie Irsay and Maureen Muse. The joining of these two separate bodies of work has allowed for points of convergence in shared themes such as, nostalgia, anonymity, language and identity.

The works of Sanie Irsay explore the complexity and unexpected outcomes of multiple intersections between memories, experiences and imprints. Irsay explores the metaphorical space that exists within every individual, in which different elements of one’s past co-exist, interact, merge and transform to somehow form a whole. This work in Memoryscapes examines the relationships between text and image through the lens of the artist’s own heritage. Irsay’s work focuses on Uzbekistan, the current conditions and harsh realities present there, combined with her personal memories and past.

The work of Maureen Muse, “Untitled (Interview Series)” from 2013 is a work revisited. The series of portraits and audio are extracted from interviews that attempt to tap into a single memory that is revived by the interviewee yet remain without explanation to the audience. Muse will also present her research and practice which deals with the alternative histories of media. The research discusses the emotional engagement involved when one uses older media, such as the analogue camera.

The exhibition navigates through the unclear landscapes of memory. For Irsay and Muse the collaboration reinforces each work by highlighting the intersecting themes and presenting the many surfaces and displacements of memory.

Opening: Tuesday, May 5th.

Maureen Muse (left), Gallery Manager, Alison Carey (center), Sanie Irsay (right).

This show is part of Spring 2015 Open Programming where students were invited to submit proposals to be shown in the Parsons Paris Gallery.