Memory Exercise, 2023
HD video, color, sound, steel flat file, automotive paint, drawing paper, graphite
12 minutes
Memory Exercise is a video installation that documents a series of somatic exercises to retrieve dormant memories stored within the diasporic body. Utilizing my family as participants for these exercises, this work investigates the relationship between body and landscape as alternative mediums for preserving cultural memory. Through drawing sessions, drives, and interviews, I create space for memories to resurface and privilege the living archive as an alternative mode of record keeping. In each exercise, the performance of repetitive movement activates dormant memories that transcend language toward Teshome Gabriel’s concept of memory as a site of ruin. By reflecting on the relationship between landscape, experience, and identity, this work considers alternative repositories for memory, providing an opportunity for oppressed and displaced individuals to to oppose and challenge official history.
Credits:
Directed and edited by: Camille Wong
Creative consultant: Yuchi Ma
DP: Max Retik
Sound mixing: Lynn Hong