Sanctum
Sanctum brought together a collection of international artists to present work in conversation around the concept of genetic memory. I curated the exhibition which included the work of Scott Vincent Campbell, Cordula Ditz, Beili Liu, Birthe Piontek, Jaime Zuverza and myself. Long fascinated with the idea that we inherit not only DNA but fear, habits, triumph, trauma and love, among other things from our ancestors, I gathered these artists to explore how this affects our collective cultural consciousness. While the notion of trauma being passed down from previous generations has been extensively studied, I believe there is a missed opportunity to expand upon these other attributes. The idea that all of our actions and experiences affect a greater expanse of the human experience is important to consider with regards to our daily behaviors and future legacy. Are we temporary caretakers of a longer lineage of archetypal behavior? A unique living combination of elements from pieces of our ancestors? Hailing from diverse practices and working in video, installation, photography, painting and sculpture, this group of artists from Texas, Vancouver, Detroit and Hamburg, Germany created work to explore this concept. The exhibition included an excerpt from my latest film TMI, which I filmed this past summer in Detroit. I used the resulting collaborative conversation about inherited memory to inspire the final productions of the film in this coming year.
2019
