Yuri Arajs: Reclaimed Memories

Can individuals derive meaning from and feel attachment to photographs and other found objects that have nothing to do with each other? Judging by Yuri Arajs's final solo exhibit before returning to his native Canada, the answer is yes. During his time here Arajs has participated in a variety of shows, in media from landscapes to reworked text. This time, Arajs takes old photography and media into consideration. He has collected photography over the years from estate auctions, trash bins, and garage sales, and the variety shown at "Reclaimed Memories" certainly forces one to address the ownership of memories. Rather than creating collage work, or manipulating pictures into new or expanded images, Arajs arranges pictures with few frills or distractions. Images are arranged sparsely, and quite matter-of-fact: A man sits on a fence, a couple walks down a path, snow falls on a cabin in the woods. We may never know the origins of the images we gaze upon, but that won't stop us from creating our own stories for these moments in time.
June 20-July 27, 2008