Shusaku Arakawa
The Mechanism of Meaning(No.2)14. Construction of the Memory of Meaning
- Artist
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Shusaku Arakawa
- Date
-
c.1963-1988
- Medium
-
Oil on canvas
- Dimentions
-
244.0×173.0cm
- Accesion Number
-
AS-005-71~76
-
© 2016 Reversible Destiny Foundation. Reproduced with permission of the Reversible Destiny Foundation
Construction of the Memory of Meaning explores how we remember past experiences, recall them, and create meaning from them.
Here, memory is not understood as something that is simply stored away. Rather, it is continually revisited from the perspective of the present and reconnected each time it is recalled. An event from a single day can become linked to memories from a week, a year, or even much longer spans of time, gradually taking on new meanings.
By accumulating past experiences, bodily sensations, and emotions, we construct a narrative about ourselves. Meaning is therefore not something fixed within memory itself; instead, it is continually reconstructed through the act of recalling the past and relating it to the present. This exercise suggests that memory is an active process through which meaning and personal identity are formed.
Shusaku Arakawa
- Artist
-
Shusaku Arakawa
- Date
-
c.1963-1988
- Medium
-
Oil on canvas
- Dimentions
-
244.0×173.0cm
- Accesion Number
-
AS-005-71~76
-
© 2016 Reversible Destiny Foundation. Reproduced with permission of the Reversible Destiny Foundation