Memoria olvido 2015

This is Francis Naranjo's photographic artwork, "Memoria Olvido," made at an unspecified date. The title translates as "Memory Forgetfulness", which, in itself, suggests a dialectical act. The piece, as a photograph, captures something of an assemblage. It’s constructed of black and white photographs, an LED light source, and the dark room, a world coming into being through light. I can imagine Naranjo carefully arranging the images. The gesture of placing the LED light on the photographs seems to be a way of illuminating memories and emotions. It’s the idea of shining light on something, of bringing it out of the darkness. I think the artist wanted to focus on the idea of memory as something fragile and fleeting. In a way, all artmaking is about remembrance and forgetting, and about the artist being in conversation with themselves and with other artists, too. It is a way of understanding the world and how we experience it.