Anna Keck

Anna Keck

Savannah, GA

Trace of Memory

The moment I inherited Maw Maw Keck’s old photographs they have mesmerized me.  Staring at them, looking for evidence or clues that tell more about the family history, makes me want to learn about their lives and understand them as individuals..  An unexplained connection to their memories is felt.

These photos are not evidence of anything at all. They are only the trace of the memories left behind. The photos only tell what the moments looked like.  It is not even known for sure who took the photographs.  The only thing seen is what the photographers saw in the limited viewfinder of a camera lens.

I immerse myself in these memories that belong to others by tracing them on fabric with stitches. In hopes to discover a new viewpoint of their experience, disappointment is realized when the only discovered perspective is my own.

By placing the stitched fabric between two pieces of paper with ink, the prints are created. Each print from the final stitching mimics how people come away with multiple views of the same experience.  This transformation from photograph to stitching, and finally the print on paper, expresses the deterioration of the memory and the fading of these details over time.  The imprint of the ink on the paper is the memory of the stitching; thus, it is the trace of a memory.

Trip to the Mountains

22″ x 32″

~ by karinrebekah on January 28, 2009.