Joanne Hewko

Memory Lost

Memory access comes in random ways; reminiscence floats up arbitrarily, causing a cascade of connections in the mind. It is transient and remembered information is often disrupted, inaccurate and open to new narratives. Memory Lost began as an investigation photographs of myself as a child, and through this body of work I think about memories and their potential to be fragmented, obscured, reinterpreted and degraded over time.  

Through paintings, drawings and collages, I juxtapose partial photographic images with abstract elements to compliment, distract, and facilitate new meanings. The use of graphic disruptions such as lines and  translucent layers in paintings affects the perception of underlying imagery. Cloudy painted veils and erasure in drawings give visual form to details lost through time and forgetfulness. In photo-based collages I combine images with abstract elements to refer to how memory is constructed and is based on the details of life experience, which is not always factual.

My work follows in the tradition of artists Robert Rauschenberg, and Albert Oehlen who imbed photographic imagery in paintings to create abstract work with representational details, referring the tangible in life. This photographic imagery acts as a contrasting device for painted and drawn elements while figurative and recognizable images create narrative meaning within the work.

Using my childhood photographs as source material for this body of work has a provided me an opportunity to consider in depth my own memories and how much I have remembered, lost and distorted.