Jeremy Woolf – Building Memory
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Jeremy Woolf, "Sachsenhausen Gatehouse, Oranienburg Germany," 2012
archival inkjet print, 21.5" x 27.5"
Opening Reception: Wednesday, April 18, 7–9pm The artist will be in attendance
The Building Memory project arose as an inquiry into family memory following the death of my parents. I traced my family history throughout Western and Eastern Europe, ultimately ending at the Belzec death camp in eastern Poland, adjacent to the border with Belarus.
My formal training and years of practice as an Architect have informed my photography – which is strongly architectural. I became fascinated with the idea of collective memory and affect, in particular reference to buildings connected with the period of fascism: Do these buildings today have a resonance? How do the people in them now react, and are they aware of the history, often violent, associated with these structures? Are the users affected or oblivious to it? The dichotomy and tension between beauty and horror – producing technically beautiful images of horrific subjects is fascinating.
– Jeremy Woolf