Telling stories; inherited memories.

By Michelle Gallagher

When considering the nature of memory I was inspired by a quote from Bob Dylan. “I don’t dig nature at all. I think nature is very unnatural. I think the truly natural things are dreams, which nature can’t touch with decay”. Memory, unlike dreams, can be affected by decay. They lose their lustre, become altered, frayed or forgotten completely through time. Frequently unwanted memories linger and fond memories fade. I became curious as to how the memories we hold on to for extended periods of time remind intact and lustrous, how they became Dylan’s ‘truly natural things’ untouchable by decay.

The methods that are used to create lasting memories have one common factor, they tell a story. People forge links to the past that last lifetimes, and sometimes through generations. Links that weather the decaying nature of memory. Through the uses of oral storytelling, photos or objects memories are sustained and passed through generations, forging and bring depth to connection to the past, both culturally and personally. Of these ways to connect to the past I became particularly interested in passing on man-made objects, specifically jewellery.

I created a typolgical archive of people with inherited jewellery. To achieve this I asked ten people to allow me to photograph them with jewellery that had sentimental value, collecting the stories and reasons as to for why these pieces had treasured memories attached to them.

I took these photographs in portrait style to create a more personal, sentimental atmosphere. And set them against organic backgrounds to emphasis the textural contrast between the organic and the man-made. These organic backgrounds have no uniformal colour and are interputed with patches of light and dark, to reflect the decaying and altering nature of memory.

“The golden cross was my father’s, he died when I was twelve. The golden bulldog is mother’s and the silver cross is my sister’s. We don’t live in the same countries anymore, but I keep my family with me

always.”

"My granny gave it to me on my fourteenth birthday, the year before she died. My granddad gave it to her on their fiftieth wedding anniversary because he hadn't given her one. Her sister had bought it in America and sent it back."

"This is my grandmother's wedding ring. It’s well-worn; she wore it for sixty-nine years. She passed in March, and I've been wearing it since."

"These were my great-grandmothers pearls, a wedding gift. My granny inherited them and I inherited them from her."

“I found these when I was going through my mom's older jewelry from her teenage years. Most of them were abit mad, all funky and multicoloured, but the ones I'm wearing were my

favorite as they reminded me of the person she became - my mom.”

"When I was about eight years old, I had a blue glass ring. When I broke it I was heartbroken. My grandaunt, seeing how upset I was, gave me this bracelet made from the same blue venetian

glass as my ring."

"These earrings were passed from my grandmother to my mother, and from my mother to me -the only women in three generations of my family."

"The beads, earrings and bracelet I am wearing were all passed down through generations of my family. My favorite is the Aaarsi ring, it was my grandmothers. It was used to view what is happening in a room,

without lifting ones head and seeming disrespectful."

"For my seventh birthday my aunt gave me a handbag full of things that my older cousins had out grown like toys, make-up and this blue ring - My first piece of jewelry."

"I bought these beads for my grandmother in Jerusalem when I was seven, and they were returned to me when she passed on."