Allison Broome

My work has always centered around the idea of memory and the patterns found within the process of recollection. Memories are a connection to the past and often serve as an aid for functioning in the present. I am fascinated by the way memories are available to us and what stays in our minds.

This work shows the visual architecture of various aspects of memory. In some cases, fading, dissipation, and repetition of colors and materials have been the main outlet for working through these ideas. Where there is loss, the color fades away. When time has passed, forms grow smaller or disperse. When there is constant recollection, there is repetition. These characteristics provide for opportunities to see the potential that memory plays in our lives on a grander scale.

More recently, it has become necessary to include recognizable imagery from objects I’ve obtained that are important connectors to past memories. These objects belonged to loved ones who are no longer with me, and sat on shelves in houses in which I no longer have access. They are totems to dwell upon. Using their outline and tracing their edges over and over has been a new outlet for incorporating personal memory into my work. The process of cutting out multiple replicas has simultaneously acknowledged the importance of the object, while also allowing for release of the tight clench of obsession. By viewing their silhouettes in a new ephemeral form, my memory is able to shift back to the feelings associated with them in their original place, making the connection to the people and places stronger.