Cyrus Karimipour

Invented Memory

May 7 - July 1, 2010

This series explores how meaning is assumed and altered through fragmentation and reassembly.

History informs the present and future; however, new experiences continuously alter our recollection and interpretation of past events. This body of work mimics the continuous breakdown and reassembly that occurs as we navigate our daily experience, in order to illustrate the liquid nature of memory.

Anytime an event or experience is recalled, it is reassembled from fragments dispersed throughout the brain, and differs slightly from every other time it was summoned. As our lives progress, not only is our perception of the future altered, but also that of the past. This seems to cast doubt on the veracity of what we believe and how we view others and ourselves. If past experience relies upon, and consequently conforms to what has yet to occur, then there is little that can be known about who we really are, what we want, and where we are headed.

35mm photographic film and comparably sized inkjet transparencies are dissected and used to construct small installations. These images are photographed digitally and printed as archival pigment prints. The scenes that emerge from this process encourage the seamless and spontaneous migration between the real and the imaginary, the authentic and the artificial, the explicit and implicit.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Cyrus Karimipour received his MFA in Photography from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. His photographs have been exhibited at the Griffin Museum of Photography, Light Work, and ThreeWalls, and internationally in galleries in Berlin, Bregenz and Beijing. His work has been published in Harper's Magazine and Contact Sheet, and can be found in the collections of The Center for Fine Art Photography in Colorado, Light Work in New York, and The Center for Contemporary Art in New Mexico. He is a two time Photolucida Critical Mass Finalist, as well as a nominee for the Baum Award for Emerging American Photographers. Recent exhibitions include the Kaunas Photo Festival, in Lithuania, and The Lishui International Photo Festival, in China. http://cyruskarimipour.com/