Unhappenings

About This Project

2023, lithographs, 28 x 22 inches.

Identity is shaped through time, place, and lived experience. With change as our constant companion, who we are—whether how we see ourselves or how we are defined by others—evolves with each passing moment. We continuously experience, witness, and ingest the world around us, cataloging and coding the information we consume in our memories. Psychologist Edward de Bono posited that “a memory is what is left behind when something happens and does not completely unhappen.” These malleable impressions, in turn, contribute to the forming of our notions of self.

Unhappenings is a series of lithographs presenting the illusion of folded papers, images of the surface of the water backed by rich color. Using the opposing fluid and structured forms of water and paper as allegories, I document the observation, packaging, folding, rediscovering, and exploration of moments secreted within our minds. Here, presented as specimens, they await their next opportunity to contribute to the viewer’s identity.