“Ritual invites contemplation on the subjective truth of memories, the evolution of photography, and the ongoing quest to preserve the fleeting. It delves into the impermanence of both memory and materiality through photographs captured on expired large format Polaroid film, discontinued in 2008. Forgotten in the recesses of photographers’ cupboards, these films have lost their original function as an instant method for exposure assessment. Yet, marked by time on their paper and chemical substrate, they are rejuvenated as images-as-objects to be re-evaluated in a new context.
Employing this expired film is an act of faith fraught with uncertainty, mirroring the ephemeral nature of memory. Just as memories can fade into fragments, photographs too can succumb to amnesia. Like the delicate surface of a daguerreotype, easily marred by a touch, these Polaroids symbolize memory’s fragility and gradual erosion.
Magic often happens in this unpredictable process. A serendipitous streak through falling water or a fingerprint impression reveals the human impact on the landscape, transforming sacred places of ritual into tourist destinations. Hiking to these remote locations, the physical effort, and the slow, deliberate process of using large format contrasts sharply with the fast-paced, reproducible nature of modern digital photography.
Ritual is an investigation to the fictional veracity of memories, the death and rebirth of photography, and the enduring effort to preserve the ephemeral. With its layered scars and unpredictable beauty, it tells a story of loss, recovery, and the interplay between presence and absence, materiality and memory.”
