I Remember
2020 – 2023
Assembled Memories / Shared Histories
About the Project
The I Remember Project is a participatory multi-generational community engagement project that resulted in public artworks. The project, inspired by Joe Brainard’s book I Remember, was conceived during the imposed isolation of the pandemic in 2020 and created during an artist-in-residency at Cassilhaus in Chapel Hill in October of 2021.
Community Donations of Family Photographs
There are multiple artworks in the I Remember project which incorporate thousands of photographic negatives and slides that were collected from generous community members in the greater Durham, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, North Carolina communities. Each donation depicts individual and family histories and collectively, the artwork functions as a record of the area’s identity.
Negatives were found gathering dust in old wooden crates in a garage, in old notebooks filled with personal history, in boxes under beds, tucked away in basement storage and piled up in envelopes in a desk drawer. Negatives were also donated by present day students working in the wet darkroom, embracing the tactile process of traditional photography as an alternative means of expression.
The donated photographic materials span over 100 years and provide a window into life in this area from the early 1900’s to 2021.
The images reveal moments in our lives, slices of time that encourage reflection: weddings, funerals, family gatherings, trips, portraits of loved ones, light falling on the landscape and of course cats.
Drop boxes for materials were set up in local libraries and businesses for donations. Each participating community member filled out a form with the history of the negatives or slides. All donations are copied and as a thank you interested donors had the option of receiving digital files. One of the most interesting donations was in the form of 8”x10” glass plate negatives that date back to the 1920’s photographic technology. An installation of these glass plate negatives mounted in light-boxes made from salvaged American Chestnut wood from North Carolina was completed in 2023.
Multiple sewing bees were held at local venues during the month of October in 2021. Community participants sewed stories together one stitch at a time.
Construction of the Art Pieces
Gather
The art piece Gather was constructed using over 8,0000 donated 35mm negatives and slides. These materials were sewn together into small squares of nine frames with waxed linen thread. Each square represents one individual’s submission. These squares were then sewn together to create the final dimensional work. 76” x 270” x 12”.
Steal the Elixir and Run
Steal the Elixir and Run is made from the photographic archive of a single artist, Pinky/MM Bass. Unique to the I Remember Project, the piece honors the life work of this important artist. The title refers to the artist’s thesis in graduate school. 24” x 72” x 4”.
The Stars Know Your Name
The Stars Know Your Name includes many donations of larger format negatives from the community. These negatives date from 1913 to the present and include quiet moments in nature, walks made along local rivers and portraits of family and friends. 16mm film is also incorporated into this artwork illustrating a broad swath of photographic history and materials. 24” x 72” x 4”.
And Every Stone on the Road Precious
And Every Stone on the Road Precious uses donated glass plate negatives from the 1920’s. The negatives sit in custom built lightboxes made from reclaimed North Carolina American Chestnut wood. These boxes were constructed by master woodworker Tim Swanberg of Ovando, Montana. 9” x 11” x 5” each.
Remember When
Over 8,000 donated photographic images have been copied and archived. Selections from these negatives have been printed as 4” x 6” archival pigment prints and sewn together to form a long strip of over 100 feet. This strip can be modified to fit any venue for exhibition. At sewing bee events, participants were asked to answer the question “what does community mean to you?”. These statements are included in this long string of photographs.
Statement by the Artist
“As I bind these materials together, at a time when division is so strong in our country, I’ve been thinking about what defines a community and how we gather in meaningful ways. The sharing of stories is often at the core of human connection and as a photographer, I know that photographs have the power to connect as well as to divide. I care about the connection and know that our shared memories greatly outweigh our differences. Sparked by the power of family photographs, this project has become an opportunity for these North Carolina communities to participate, pause and reconsider the many perspectives of a communal experience.”
Thank you to the following organizations for their generous support and help in getting this project off the ground: Durham Arts Council, Chapel Hill Library, Orange County Arts Commission, Freeman’s Creative, Durham Main Library, Durham Library East Regional Branch, Duke University MFA Program, Click Photography Festival and the Nasher Museum Reflections Group.
Thanks goes to Vann T. Powell, Duke MFA student for his general assistance with the project and to Sara McCreary for help with gathering materials and some stitching time.
Special thanks go to Frank Konhaus and Ellen Cassilly of Cassilhaus in Chapel Hill for providing support for this project in the form of a creative artist in residency experience enhanced by community engagement.
Statements from Participants
“I remember the joy, laughter and love surrounding all of us in these photos.”
“These donations are from when I was teaching photography at the University of Maryland, 1999-2009. These negatives are with high school students in a special education class of students with developmental disabilities, exchanging cameras and making portraits. It is important to me as a professional photographer and educator to use my work to serve the community. I find myself, now after half a century, continuing this personal mission.”
“This is Maplewood Cemetery in Durham where tobacco barons and their families lie under elaborate late Victorian monuments. Growing up, I longed for the Somewhere Else where people wrote books, acted in plays, painted pictures and gave parties to which I was invited - miraculously, this turned out to be Hillsborough, the very place I ran away to find.”
“I remember when I took most of these photos. I was in photography class in college and loved it more than anything else in the world. Every family member, location or event was my subject.”
“1983-1985 my daughter Jennifer and also me.”
“It was nice to look back at the past to find these images.”
“My cousin’s wedding, September, 1997, Hendersonville, North Carolina. The marriage dissolved long ago, but our family remains strong and beautiful.”