The art of memories

Part of The Remembrancer Exhibition

Artist and USQ Lecturer in Visual Arts, Tiffany Shafran takes her inspiration from the ideas of memory, fiction, collection and travel.

'I have been fortunate to travel and live in beautiful environments in my life, giving me a sense of wonder and a deep curiosity about the world around me, and an appreciation of objects that are beautifully crafted and many memories,' said Tiffany.

'I am inspired by the things I come across as they provide prompts upon which I create art.'

For her upcoming exhibition, The Remembrancer, Tiffany takes the role of the Remembrancer; an archaic word that describes someone who ‘remembers’.

'For me, the word suggests a magician-like person who knows the secret way memories work and inhabit the intangible world of the imagination and who is able to create memories; to fabricate them.

'The idea of the authentic and fabricated remembered experience is of great interest to me.

'Through the act of remembering we can ask what is really real and what is fiction and thus construct our own personal history.'

The Remembrancer is an exhibition of objects, both found and constructed.

'For me, objects provide the link between the tangible world we live in and the intangible realm of our imaginations.

'They are the prompt, the souvenir of an experience and often remain long after the memory is forgotten.

'It is their ability to be the vessels of memory that is explored within the exhibition.'

The works take two forms; the first are works that reference collections of objects such as Cabinets of Curiosity and attempt to determine systems of significance, classification and relationships between found objects; the second are assemblages – specific outcomes that utilise found objects but are constructed as talismans or trophies – the markers of a particular event.

'Many of the objects are part of my personal collection which I have gathered since childhood and have travelled with me around the world.

'They are also deeply personal including an ancient cow jawbone that my father gave to me that reminds me of the first smell I can remember – fire.

'He was with me the day I smelled the sweet pungent fragrance of the campfire, felt the dim shade of the barn and saw the bleached cow’s skull hanging on the post – it was a magical experience.'

The Remembrancer Exhibition will be on display in the USQ Arts Gallery from Wednesday 28 April until Thursday 20 May and will be officially opened on Wednesday 5 May at 5pm.

The Gallery is open from 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday and admission is free of charge.

Contact Details:
Michelle Fox, USQ Artsworx, +61 7 4631 1114 or 0439 911 623