Material as Rediscovered Memory
series
Material as Rediscovered Memory I,
2020, 15 in. x 22 in.
Material as Rediscovered Memory II,
2021, 22 in. x 30in.
Material as Rediscovered Memory III,
2021, 22 in. x 30 in.
Material as Rediscovered Memory IV,
2021, 22 in. x 30 in.
Material as Rediscovered Memory V,
2021, 22 in. x 30 in.
Material as Rediscovered Memory VI,
2021, 15 in. x 22 in.
Material as Rediscovered Memory VII,
2021, 15 in. x 22 in.
Material as Rediscovered Memory VIII - XI,
2021
Material as Rediscovered Memory VIII,
2021, 11 in. x 15 in.
Material as Rediscovered Memory XI,
2021, 11 in. x 15 in.
Material as Rediscovered Memory IX - X,
2021.
A series of intaglio prints directly pulled from my late mother’s cutting board.
Even though my memory of my late mother is fading with every passing moment, the cutting board remembers her strokes and movements – as if it was just yesterday. While making these prints, I felt like an archaeologist would, excavating my mother's artifacts, i.e., her cutting boards, discovering information which they have always held, revealing themselves to me only through artistic means. Here, my mother, Amal, is portrayed in the line work from her using a knife to prepare food for my family and me. Although she never intended for her hand to be highlighted in her arbitrary knife usage on a cutting board meant only for kitchen work, the subsequent print acts as a collaboration between me and her.
Artworks like this act as a reminder that material holds memory, and what I found in them was a rediscovered memory. One that had gone unnoticed until seen in a new light with art-making; creating a transformed relationship with my mother.