My exhibition “Intertwined Memory” opened on the 23 of June in the gallery La Casa Amarilla, Zaragoza Spain.

This exhibition is the continuation of the project called “Tracking Memory” which I did in 2024 together with David Bilkey, Professor in Psychology from Otago University, Dunedin. Our project was part of the Art and Memory Project which was a collaborative interdisciplinary project curated by Pam McKinlay with the support of The Dunedin School of Art, Otago University and Creative NZ. In this project artists and scientists together explored how the idea of memory is understood within different frameworks.

In the exhibition “Intertwined Memory’ I have brought together a series of artworks which all explore the nature of episodic and spatial memory. There are 7 works on canvas as well as works on paper and video. The large scale works of canvas draw out the intertwined workings of neurons within the brain. The lines map out imaginary space and the rhythmic sequence of memory formation is marked as numbers. The lines cut through the pictorial space dividing it up into sections which overlap and transform through time. In all this, my hand is present, marking time much as you do when walking. In the video “Tracking Memory” my hand is constantly moving back and forth marking time like a metronome. In the video I use the squares to represent cells within the brain and express again this idea of sequential memory and ‘phase precession’. Together David Bilkey and I recorded our walks which then become interwoven as a type of shared memory in the video.

I use my hands to draw and I draw my hands. I use the right hand to draw the left hand and visa versa. I draw the contour of my hand or the silhouette and in doing so I am linking the hand to the brain. My hand is an extension of the cognitive activity in my brain. The lines on the palms of my hands are there as a reminder of my past and present. The lines on my hands are a form of cognitive map. These lines extend beyond the edge of my hands in search of new places and new memories. My hands are like islands. In some works the form of the hand has merged into a mysterious form of hidden island.

https://galerialacasamarilla.com/exposiciones/sarah-shackleton-intertwined-memory/