Reflections - The Initial Idea... The Photo Set

From using the 10 things people get wrong about memory web page, I thought about how when people remember an event they slightly change what they remember. For example they remember the last time they spoke about it therefore the memory changes slightly.

 So I came up with the idea of having my photo set of an event/ reconstruction / posed photograph and as it moved down each photo they would slightly change revealing a completely different photograph at the bottom of the set. 

It would represent the progression of memory and how it seems to fade. 

 When I came up with this idea I looked into how the memory works and the general ideas behind it. 

http://www.spring.org.uk/2013/02/reconstructing-the-past-how-recalling-memories-alters-them.php

http://www.spring.org.uk/2012/10/how-memory-works-10-things-most-people-get-wrong.php

Through these pages I was able to decipher that; memories don't decay however memory is unstable because you are able to alter memories when you recall them. 

This was my idea of how it would be set out. 

I would like to show how we recall memories and focus on how every time we think about a memory it strengthens in different ways and how it eventually ends up like Chinese whispers and false memories can be created, however there is always one strong element that its repeated every time we recall the memory, this would stay the same every time, but other things would change around, fade out or leave the memory completely. 

As I think the idea is quite solid the subject and theme of the photograph is the next thing to think about.

Firstly I came up with the idea of reconstructing the past, by recreating a famous image I would be able to look into the past of that particular photograph or event and change it in ways I wanted, however that would mean I was limited to the pictures I would be able to use as reconstructing a famous photograph would be difficult. 

So I thought I could use one of my memories, create it from my recollection and change it how I would like, however I think it would be difficult for me to remember all the details, however that would highlight what Im trying to point out with this project, it just wouldn't have a strong starting point.  

So that left me with my third and final idea... come up with a new memory.

This would give me the ability to manipulate it as much as I wanted. I could then make it as ridiculous as I want, perhaps showing a child like recollection adding it silly things that would not be realistic. 

for example it could be a birthday party, the first image could start with everyone huddled around the cake and as the set goes on people could disappear, people could be added, colour of balloons could change, people could get more and more drunk etc.

Either way if I create the scene and situation myself it would be alot easier to change as I wouldn't have such an attachment to the original memory and also it wouldn't be impossible like recreating a famous photograph would be!