2018

Transference: Constructing the Encounter of Memory & Matter

Max Irving-Lamb

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+64 211 016 162
Max Irving Lamb Page Header
One of the installations presented in the final exhibition 'No Happy Ending This Time.'

This thesis explores the transference of architecture between reality and memory, informing the ongoing development of a collaborative practice with Jessica O’Reilly. 

With a focus on full scale fabrication we created a series of temporary installations to  explore alternative methods of heritage conservation. The collection of work produced was presented in a final exhibition that reflected upon significant stages of our research and chartered the course of joint and individual work.

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Jess and I undergoing the collaborative drawing exercise, Translator / Scribe.
Max Irving Lamb Poster
Exhibition poster.

My practice for this thesis involved both collaborative and individual work. Fellow student and friend, Jessica O’Reilly and I were both deeply interested in the collaborative process, and wanted to find a way to incorporate this into our work. As such, we each produced a thesis that both stands alone and can be read together. 

The two of us developed a design methodology to engage with the heritage of a site, producing creative work in response. For the scope of our theses, we focused on lost buildings and responded in the form of temporary installations. Our project reflects upon the transference between past and present; between concept and construction, and between our creative practices. Under this umbrella we each investigate a different sub theme. My thesis looks at memory, specifically how places exist and transform within our memory.

Our work culminated in a final exhibition of our collaborative installation pieces and individual creative work, No Happy Ending This Time.

 
Max Irving Lamb Museum
Museum of Art & Fact: our first installation, exhibited at Auckland Artweek, 2017.
Max Irving Lamb Museum Show
The museum, fragmented and re-exhibited in our show.
Max Irving Lamb Translator
The Translator / Scribe exercise involved one person describing a found photographic slide to the other, who was tasked with drawing the scene out of view. These drawings were screen-printed onto an aluminium shelf for the exhibition, behind their respective slide for comparison.
Max Irving Lamb Venus
My individual work involved further exploration of a drawing practice. This composite image aims to capture the essence of place within memory.
Max Irving Lamb Veil
The 'Temporal Veil' (background) memorialises a demolished building on Fort Street. The lightbox (foreground) presents my individual drawing work.
Max Irving Lamb Veil Footjpg
The veil featured an image screen-printed onto a PVA membrane, hung on a steel temp fence.
Max Irving Lamb Veil Words
Stories of the demolished building were projected onto the veil, brought into focus when pressed to the fence.
Max Irving Lamb Site
Jess and I combined our individual practices of modelling and drawing to create a dream-like representation of the demolition site, projected behind the veil.