Object Memory

Object Memory explored storytelling, heirlooms, and history through the work of Jen Blazina and Ashley Catherine Smith. At its core, the exhibition was about transformation—the way stories shift over time and how objects, through revision, gain new meaning.

Mending is a topic very dear to me, I was excited to explore the theme as part of this exhibit. Repair, both literal and metaphorical, is a practice that requires patience. The pieces in this show took years to come into being—years for the objects to reach their current stewards and years for these artists to hone their craft. That passage of time is evident in the unraveling spines of Jen’s Victorian-era albums and in the multiplying darns on Ashley's inherited Mickey Mouse t-shirt.

 

Object Memory sought to remind viewers that storytelling, like repair, can be an ongoing process—one that shapes how we remember, reinterpret, and pass down history.