ABOUT THE PROJECT

Early this year I was invited to be a part of an art exhibition curated by Annie Buckley and John Souza entitled “Psychic Outlaws”, at CalState University/Los Angeles’ Luckman Arts Complex. The curators invited a group of artists and writers to create original artwork based on our readings and interpretation of the novel by the same title, written by Buckley a couple of years earlier. Given my interest in the topics of memory, language, and translation, I was immediately drawn to the first section of the book (The Memory) in which we meet the main character, and learn that she “just didn’t have any memories, save the one.” Emily holds onto this single memory of her childhood “like a talisman”.

Throughout my reading of Annie Buckley’s text, I kept remembering very specific moments of my own past, that, in many ways, would come to define me. A note that my sister and I wrote on a wall right before leaving our home of 19 years, and our homeland; a day at the beach, the water like hot soup, our parents’ quarrels sinking like lava; the moment my child left my body and was born into the world…

I decided to create The Memory Bank Project, an ongoing multimedia work that collects, and will later on map the memories and stories of people from our neighborhoods and beyond.  The texts and images I’ve received in the last couple of months have been collected in a book (available via Lulu.com), and were the seed for a performance piece conceived in collaboration with Carmina Escobar. As the project continues to grow and evolve, all entries will continue to be documented in this blog. The entries are posted in the order I receive them, and the content is not edited in any way. 

I would like to thank John and Annie for the opportunity to create and share this project as part of their very unique exhibition concept. To my collaborators, designer Tiffanie Tran, and artist and performer Carmina Escobar, I would like to express my gratitude for their generous spirits and wealth of talent. And to the contributors of The Memory Bank Project, I thank you deeply for your courage and generosity in sharing your Voice and memories with us all.

Los Angeles, August, 2010