Shelf Memories
Shelf Memories: A Photo Essay
'Shelf Memories' is currently being exhibited at The MacMillan Art Center's newly renovated digital art exhibition space in Parksville. It will be in The Cloakroom Gallery from May 3rd to June 30th, 2025.
Read more about the exhibition launch here!
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After two years of only focusing on writing, I've decided to focus on a photography project I've had on my mind for a while as I wait for some work to wrap up. This new project, entitled 'Shelf Memories', focuses on one of my favourite parts about used books; the love notes or annotations scrawled into the first new pages. This personal touch always adds to the history of the book in my mind and I love the little insights it gives into the relationships between people. It always feels deeply personal; leaving me to wonder why the book ended up on these shelves and what happened to these people.
Shelf Memories, the project, is officially described below:
Shelf Memories is a nostalgic photo series that documents the place of books within human relationships. Within the book cover lies a handwritten note from which we catch a brief yet intimate insight into the bond between people; the moments shared and milestones celebrated through the giving of a carefully selected book. The notes, paired with the book's cover image, reveal more of the giver's intentions; from nursery rhythms and Bibles to poetry and self-help. No matter how meaningful they once 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."
I'm excited to swap hours staring at black words on a white page for something a little more visually stimulating for a time!
My favourite and most fascinating books/ notes will be added to my homepage blog as individual 'memories'. Check out a few below: