The Mnemonic Mirror

Generated as a response to the comprehensive downfall of linear memory among the minds of tomorrow, The Mnemonic Mirror is an artist led project on show at the UTS Gallery.

The exhibition looks hypothetically at how certain types of thinking have been replaced by other methods, technology is one factor but that is not necessarily a bad thing in the eyes of artist and co-curator Gary Carsley, as he explained:

“We are aware that there are changes happening through the physical and cultural economy and these changes are driven by technology. It’s possible to speak of a global culture in a way that was not possible previously. Kids can game online living in Sydenham participating with the collective who live in the suburbs of Shanghai and Buenos Aires.”

Carsley and co have made a concerted effort not to simply write off what they don’t understand, something that is sure to intrigue new age thinkers.

“This show is speculative; it draws on artists who in many respects are using atrophied artisanal techniques. Things that have disappeared from the catalogue of memory that previously enabled the history of art that we know, which has been replaced by a more lateral arrangement.”

Very simply, this exhibition is about the way we use our minds and how that has changed over generations, for better or worse.

“We’re trying to address this particular moment around memory, because memory is not simply not forgetting something, memory is this network of things.” (AH)

May 10–Jul 1; Mon–Fri 12-6pm, Sat 12-4pm. UTS Gallery, 702 Harris Street, Ultimo. Info: art.uts.edu.au

BY ANDREW HODGSON