Evolving Memory, by Marco C, age 17

evolving memory marco calia

the green hues of january grass photos captured on iPhone in january 2022 autumnal colors of lichen a reminder of drought despite the earth’s greenness perspective the sky! investigating perspective

for fresh air and scenic Bay Area views. I’m reminded of the times I paced Kite Hill back and forth, trying to best my family in a Fitbit step competition. Kite Hill was the host of lockdown retreats I took to get some much-needed space from my immediate family. I recall the trivial arguments I had with Anna on Kite Hill that once seemed monumental, and the way a visit to Kite Hill could serve as a remedy for the most mundane day. There are very few things that remind me more of “home” than Kite Hill.

This collection of photos aims to evoke some of the memories I experienced on Kite Hill through its landmarks – from the beloved neighborhood tree to an ordinary sprouting of lichen that works as one piece of the puzzle in the shaping of Kite Hill’s natural beauty.

a family photo, taken 1.17 photos captured in half moon bay, ca sea foam shot in perspective windswept trees perched atop a cliff

collage

investigate some of my most formative memories and how they’ve evolved by collaging elements of old family photos and incorporating them into environments where my more recent memories have taken place. Like Kite Hill, I’ve always considered tidepools to be a meaningful outdoor space. When I was younger, my sister and I would spend days at the beach exploring the diverse array of life held inside a tidepool, narrowly avoiding getting soaked by an unexpected wave. While visits to our local tidepools have become less frequent, I feel a sense of nostalgia when revisiting this childhood landmark, and have gained a greater appreciation for their beauty as well as the essential functions they provide as an aquatic ecosystem.

My collage took a lot of trial and error to create. I experimented with perspective, using image size to illustrate the evolving nature of memory. This entailed repeated trips to CVS to print photos in a range of sizes, as well as time spent staging different compositions to create my final artwork. In the end, this collage is one of my favorite pieces I created during this investigation, and I had a blast taking photos of such a cool space with my family.

woodside on film march & april 2022 polaroid emulsion lifts

emulsion from its frame, representing it in a new piece of art to illustrate how our memories can be reinvented through time. I chose to apply the Polaroid transfer technique to my concept because I wanted to evoke the nostalgia of Polaroid, itself a memory in the “new age” of digital photography. Polaroids act as a method of capturing photos that print instantly, leaving you with an “artifact” or a certain memory.

My transfers didn’t always come out as an exact replication, but were torn and took on different shapes. This relates to how we develop memories – we might see some parts as fuzzy and others as crystal clear, but the physical artifact or lingering memory is still there.