A forthcoming installation piece in collaboration with choreographer, dancer, and costume designer Jakki Kalogridis.

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A word from Jakki on the conception: 

 

I became interested in the fallibility of memory. How might we know what is accurate and what is not? How much does it matter? How much do our memories define us? Are they altered in some way if we share them, or are they given a chance to transform into something new and live on in someone else?

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Jakki began by collecting objects that were linked to memories, amassing everything from pill bottles to four-leaf clovers from friends and strangers alike.  They will be built into Jakki's costume for the performance, so that "anyone who sees the gown or the piece will witness and 'read' a vast array of memories, and in turn be reminded of moments from their own life."

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I asked Jakki to pick a handful of memory categories they'd like to work with.  They chose horticulture, childhood, travel, medical, and romance, with a side of color guard (a huge part of Jakki's career).  They also gave me a list of sounds and songs that they connected with these categories.  Like the memory objects in Jakki's costume, I deconstructed and wove together the ones that spoke to me and harmonized best with each other.

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Jakki began this project as "Baggage," a heavier investigation of the ways memory shapes us.  Even as the project evolved into something lighter, my original concept was far more dramatic (perhaps melodramatic).  It wasn't until Jakki said, "Romance sounds like K-Ci & JoJo" that it clicked.  I went back to the drawing board and re-envisioned something more playful and lighthearted. 

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This isn't intended as a narrative piece; the idea is for the viewer to come across the installation and pick up and put down memories like books in a library.  Despite this, I think this soundscape ended up telling a story.  

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