[Im]printing Memory

Memory, like photography, is perceived to be a purveyor of fact, when, in reality, the imperfection of its recall parallels photography’s tenuous relationship with truth. Memories are retrieved much like files from a cabinet with each retrieval degrading the quality of the recall just as image quality degrades as the number of steps away from the original form increases. With the growing prevalence of visual media, humans increasingly rely on photographs to provide us with “memories” as our own capacity for independent recall diminishes.  

It should be no surprise, then, that many artists turn to photography to explore concepts of memory, both personal and collective. With the medium’s inherent inclination toward the narrative, photography can be used to unearth hidden stories, recreate scenes from the past, and invent histories that may never have existed. It allows for the visual construction of memories real or imagined, the creation of narratives that challenge existing ones, and the building of new mythologies.

The artists in [Im]printing Memory use alternative and historic photographic processes to imprint  images related to memory onto substrates that then become visual objects imbued with the weight of history. Whether abstracted representations of times past or through the use of vintage vernacular photographs as source material, they create a bridge between past and present and invite viewers to develop narratives and fabricate memories of their own.

Special programming includes Light Talks with each artist: Mattern will speak on Monday, March 30 at 5:00 pm, followed by Chauveau on Monday, April 13 at 5:00 pm, and Roberts will round out the series on Monday, May 18 at 7:00 pm.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Andy Mattern is a visual artist working in the expanded field of photography. His photographs and installations dissect the medium itself, reconfiguring expectations of photography's basic ingredients and conventions. His work is held in the permanent collections of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, among others. His photographs and exhibitions have been reviewed in publications such as Artforum, The New Yorker, Camera Austria, and Photonews. He holds an MFA in Photography from the University of Minnesota and a BFA in Studio Art from the University of New Mexico.

Caroline Roberts is a fine art photographer frustrated by our fencing off and general ignorance of the natural world. She is fascinated by our human attempts to classify, investigate and understand as a way to preserve an illusion of control. Her photographic installations play on well-established knowledge systems, such as the herbarium, the museum display, the field guide, and the library.

Born in the United Kingdom, Roberts lives and works in Houston, Texas. Often found hiking in state and national parks, Roberts’ interest in landscape and the natural world is heightened by managing fifteen acres of wild, riparian forest in rural Texas.

Séverine Chauveau's work has been presented at The Halide Project in Philadelphia, the Barcelona International Festival of Experimental Photography, where she led workshops on the concept of photo-objects, and at the Universities of Avignon and La Réunion. There, she co-hosted a lecture on experimental photography with Marc Lenot, author of the seminal work "Jouer contre les appareils" (Playing Against the Cameras), Arles, Photosynthèses, 2022. Her work has also been published in various art and photography magazines, including Suboart, The Hand Magazine, PhotoTrouvée, Assembla, and Aeonian Magazine. Chauveau studied Fine Arts at Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University and learned Haute Couture embroidery from Marylène Eyral, winner of the 2025 Influential Women of the World Award, at Studio Eyral.