Video installation
STATEMENT
Memory is selective. Memories are subjected to continuous processes of unconscious formatting influenced by the fragmented recovery of the past and the manipulation that ideological systems exert on how memory is organized and life events are appreciated. Sometimes, forgetting is a conscious decision, and therefore any small object that triggers a memory is left behind.
In happy Alzheimer’s there is an abrupt and conscious rupture of memory. Many Cubans who emigrate decide to forget, and Cuba is, since the 90s of the last century, one of the countries with the largest exodus in Latin America.
In a dumpster, the artist found photographs, identity documents, torn letters, and postcards, as well as VHS video cassettes destroyed. Thus, 64 years of a Cuban family’s experiences were erased and, with them, a fragment of collective history. The rupture of individual memory provokes us to question ourselves about the conflict it represents in the social sphere: where are we going if we forget where we come from?
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Video installation [project]
The looped video is reproduced through a plasma TV installed inside a garbage container of those that can commonly be found in the streets. The dimensions of the TV depend on the dimensions of the dumpster and should be as tight as possible. The edges of the TV are filled with cut and/or torn recycled stationery. Next to the container, on a pedestal, the album with the torn images and documents that appear in the video is presented. This album can be manipulated by the audience.
