Shelf Memory #7

 

^ Slide from my upcoming photo series exhibition at the MAC

I spent some time today trying to connect the work 'The Song of Roland' to the message written within, "To Brian, till our hopes & dreams become reality" but didn't come up with much. It's unclear if there is a connection between the historic French work and the handwritten note, but either way, it is a sweet and encouraging message to read.

I have to ask myself who Brian and Connie were, what they were hoping and dreaming for, and if they were successful in achieving it. It's been 55 years since 1970 and I imagine them sitting next to each other in a retirement home reminiscing about the past and cracking old jokes as friends.

We will never know if they were successful in making their hopes and dreams a reality. I can only hope so.

Project Description

“Shelf Memories” is a nostalgic photo series that explores the relationship between giver and recipient through the medium of books given as gifts. In the first pages of a book often nestles a handwritten note from which we catch a brief yet intimate insight into the bond between people. The notes, paired with a cover image of the book, reveal the giver's intentions; from early nursery rhythms and children's Bibles to cookbooks and self-help. The handwriting style and word choice often add to these glimpses of a different life.

No matter how important they were, the books are eventually outgrown and succumb to thrift store and community library shelves where they are found and photographed; the final resting place for many words chosen with care, signed with love, and given in hope. Relationships past and children grown, all that remains is a handwritten note, more often than not from "XOXO Nana & Pops".