Flashback - Flashforward, 2014

A person's memory is a complex, evolving thing. What you recall of the past is ever morphing - it changes with every act of remembrance. While, on the one hand, we are the sum of our memories and experiences, these memories in turn are the product of our current state of mind. Memories consistent with our present mental framework are reinforced, while inconsistent or inconvenient details grow dim. Our future memories of the present may shift and evolve to be quite different from what we see before us now. The exhibit "Flashback-Flashforward" by artist and neuroscientist AmanPreet Badhwar explores these themes of adaptable memories through both decisive and spontaneous applications of paint, playing with colour and texture to capture the uncertain borders between the real, the remembered and the constructed. Using mixed media applied in many layers on paper, Aman's process recapitulates the layering of memory itself, creating a cohesive whole from heterogeneous elements. Even the paper, recycled and often hand-made, has a voice in this process, being carefully chosen to have the right weight, texture, strength or fragility for the specific work.

A second showing of Flashback - Flashforward took place in November 2014, which included several new pieces added to the collection, shown below.