mnemes is a photographic/mixed-media series about how personal memories build community. Each work pairs a black-and-white portrait with a scanned childhood photo “lit” on the body and a short first-person text about one defining memory. Seen together, these fragments trace family, migration, care and growth. In exhibition, visitors can add a one-sentence memory to a Memory Wall or record a 30-second note, so the show becomes a living local archive.

Artist statement
I photograph people in black and white and create a small glow using a simple DIY flash-and-plastic-bag technique. Into that illuminated area I layer an analog photograph from the sitter’s past. The image acts like remembering itself: we light up one moment and hold it. Each participant writes briefly about why that memory matters today.

We live with feeds that encourage scrolling instead of remembering. mnemes proposes the opposite: returning to our memories—bright or difficult—helps us accept our past, grow, and connect with others. A single memory can feel like a tiny black hole: dense, magnetic, pulling us back and sending us forward changed. Exhibited together, these portraits become a shared space where viewers notice patterns across different lives and feel less alone.

Process & origin
The technique began as a home experiment; the texts are essential. Placing every person “on a small stage,” in their own words, reveals differences and echoes across backgrounds. Read together, the voices form a gentle community.