Conceptual artist Anna Fafaliou (b. 1987) is fascinated by the relationship between memory and the influence of colour on the psyche, creating imaginary environments that call into question how we perceive, process and record daily materials. After starting out as a performance artist, the London-based artist now uses sculpture to explore how the body negotiates the exterior world in relation to the interior spaces of the mind, manipulating new dialogues through the use of commonplace objects and materials. Questioning both visual and physical ways of experiencing materiality, her newest exhibition, Traces of Memory at De-Re Gallery, Los Angeles, challenges how we perceive and document our immediate environment.
With a multitude of works on canvas, neon installations and re-interpreted sculptures, the show is tangible documentation of the contemporary condition, reducing domestic items to minimal, alienated forms, whilst delving into the very semantics of recognition – how we, as humans, interpret the meaning of everyday objects and assign or delineate meaning through a change in aesthetic. 67 Ticking Clocks, for example, consists of 67 alarm clocks covered in white plaster, acting as an audible reminder of the passage of time, whilst promoting a consideration of the silent, digital age which has come to replace analogue tools. The stripped back palette erases and distorts notions of sentimental attachment, accentuating the notion of outdated equipment.
The second series, A Sound Only I Could Hear, comprises a collection of musical instruments which have been stripped of their functionality through the layering of the plaster. Calling into question human attachment to possessions, Fafaliou manipulates both matter and memory. Similarly, Windows explores minimal, abstract forms, and the final series, Few Things We Left Unsaid, features illuminated text which demands the viewer’s attention through the use of imperative commands, condensing emotional and confessional narratives into short, two-word phrases. The immediacy of the work contrasts the implications of patience and longing which lie beneath.
Fafaliou was previously featured in Aesthetica’s Artists’ Directory in the August / September 2016 issue. For a full interview with the artist: www.aestheticamagazine.com
Traces of Memory runs from 11 May to 6 June at De-Re Gallery, Los Angeles. For more information: www.deregallery.com
Credits:
1. Anna Fafaliou, 67 Ticking Clocks (2017). Courtesy of the artist.
