Clara Sharell
Keywords: Nostalgia, Writing, Research
Internship: Thalia Hoffman
Instagram, clara@sharell.net
“My present is more than I remember” is a research project into inter-generational connections and the webs of relationships that shape our lives. Through my work, I aim to explore the links between photography, memory, and writing, and to dive into the correlations and coexistence of past, present, and future. These explorations move me towards a better understanding of the factors that have influenced the circumstances and locations in which my family has existed. I invite you to step into a different perception of time, wherein we are intricately connected across generations.
As a nostalgic chronicler of my family history, I dig through archives in a search to understand the ways I have inherited those memories. Memories fed but left undigested throughout generations become a part of me as much as I become a part of them. What role does memory play in the shaping of identity? How existential is the role of collective and familial memory in the shaping of Jewish and German-Jewish identity?
(What if)
My present is more than I remember?
our lives are interwoven?
i am more than loose pieces of string?
your memories are also mine to feel?
When I look at myself in the mirror,
I radiate with your joy,
your sorrows,
your love and pain,
your worries and
your life's hiccups.
