gaelen pinnock

Recollection Mislaid

These works were made in a response to a brief for an exhibition called Closer than Ever at the Gallery MOMO project space in Cape Town.

Closer than Ever interrogated the camera’s ability to escape the confines of physical geographies. The exhibition addressed the effects of visual technology on the parameters of human interaction, and in turn, the way our relationship with the camera itself can be transformed. This was achieved through cross-continental collaborations using visual technology. South African artists were paired with artists working elsewhere on the globe to make work together. I was paired with Lisbon based artist, Ana Brotas.

Memories impersonate dependable allies, abiding and truthful. Yet they meander through time, collecting passengers, patching holes and constructing new realities.

Our recollections are fallible. Over time, almost like bad data compression, our minds simplify, distil and ultimately erode our memories. When we “load” them back into the present, they are increasingly patchy with time. To make our stories whole again, we fill in the gaps with bias, fantasy and images from other places.

Years ago, the two artists visited each other in their respective countries (Portugal and South Africa). Drawing on imagery from then, the artists made new interpretations that attempted to reflect both the imperfection of their recollections and a new reality created in their stead.