“I would like you to remember an important personal event, something that still seems important to you today. Actors will then reinterpret your memories.”
_____________________________________
During May-August 2012, several anonymous contributors answered my request (through a webpage that described the project), giving me lots of short texts to work on.
This is how REMEMORIES started. The project plays with memories from anonymous persons, proposing a singular approach through reinterpretation.
_____________________________________
Nostalgia, happiness or traumas formed the main components of these numerous memories, from which actors and dancers experimented to create something new, without trying to be literal but keeping the emotions and ideas of the texts. I didn’t wanted to simply reenact the memories (the original texts would have been sufficient for that) but to go beyond them and create singular photos with some freedom, for both actors and me. That is why most of my usual themes are apparent: ambiguity, mysterious symbols and a non-naturalistic approach to the link between bodies and their environment – all of which being freely interpreted by the viewers.
Places are also linked to this idea of “memories”: second-hand bookstore, former school, museum... all these interesting spaces add originality, preventing the actors from simply recreating the description of these recollections.
Finally, when submitting a message, all participants have accepted to let me publish their original text next to the photos. I’ve simply numbered them in chronological order, translating them to English when required.
_____________________________________
REMEMORIES is a work in progress and is still open to submissions: www.jsmonzani.com/rememories/
Page of the project: http://www.simplemoment.com/PagePhotos/rememories/