Artist Statement

My practice is grounded in an investigation of memory, both as a function of the brain as well as a proximity to familiarity. Stemming from an acquired disability, my ability to recall detail is severely diminished. This especially manifests when trying to remember faces, even from those who I am closest to and with whom I spend significant time. Oscillating between photography and printmaking allows me to impart my personal experiences with recognition and recollection onto two-dimensional objects. These, in turn, become remnants of memory that I can refer to and revisit. The qualities of photography and printmaking are important, given their inherent reproducibility. This parallels my need to revisit images time and again, until even a small amount of visual data is retained in my memory. Photography is the catalyst for my work, utilizing its capabilities to preserve the visual qualities of my surroundings. From the preserved image, I employ printmaking to imbue my experiences further into the image. I take the visual data within the photograph and recreate it through the repetitive nature of printmaking, cutting each line until my body learns every crease, shadow, and silhouette. These become objects of memory, created through ritual and inscribed with signifiers that prompt the recollection of others. Still, this also calls into question the safety of memory, indicating the fallacies we create through perceived feelings, a longing for nostalgia; that which once was.

2019 © Chandler Hubbard. All rights reserved.