This installation is mired in the concept of memory. How do we construct a memory? What do we choose to remember? How do we, then, present and share such memories with others?

This exhibition reconsiders the installation space, a historic cabinet, as an item of furniture reminiscent of that which could be found in someone’s home--such cabinets that are often filled with family photos, heirlooms, and other objects with personal stories and histories--and invited two artists, Ashley M. Freeby (SAIC MFA 2018) and Ben Harle (SAIC MFA 2018), to engage this space through works which considers loss and remembrance. In dialogue, these two artists’ work illicit a consideration of how we each of us cope with loss, and the potential for both public and personal memorials to generate reflection and potential healing through collective mourning.

Works Included:
Ben Harle
Various ceramic objects from the series “Thixotropic Urns”
Glazed and unglazed porcelain

Ashley M. Freeby
Photographs in standing frames from the series “Many Thousands Gone” Manipulated found photography, archival inkjet prints

Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s Office in Chicago City Hall
Installed July 13, 2018