"The Shape of Memory" is an exploration of our connection to photographs. My love for photography and understanding of why photographs matter came from my grandfather. Some of my most cherished memories were sitting on my grandparents’ couch, watching his old slides glow from the light of a slide projector. I was fascinated by the way he could recall the exact moment a photograph was taken. In today’s world, where everyone has a camera in their pocket and everything is shared on social media, I began to wonder: Do photographs still hold deep meaning, or have they become fleeting digital artifacts?
To explore this question, I conducted 18 interviews with family, friends, art students, strangers, and myself. Each person graciously shared a favorite photograph that was deeply meaningful to them to help me understand what types of photographs we hold onto. I also asked each interviewee what they believed makes the “perfect photograph.” In response to each conversation, I took a photograph inspired by their words. The photographs I took are by no means perfect, but they helped me recognize that photographs are more than just images; they are tangible pieces of our memories, emotions, and personal histories.
