In 2018 I was assistant curator at Dfbrl8r, an organization dedicated to capturing and exploring ephemeral practices. During this time I began looking into different ways to capture time-based art. In reaction to documenting live performances with a digital camera, I decided to create an analog archive. I began working with Polaroids and found inspiration in the instantaneous object that was not only proof of the action, but an artwork in its own right. As part of Dfbrl8r’s ten-year anniversary exhibition in 2020 called What Remains: On the Sacred, the Lost, and the Forgotten Relics of Live Art, I was invited to work with an enormous inflatable kayak Michelle Murphy used in a 2018 performance on the Chicago River. For “How Can We Keep This Moment Alive?,” I chose to conceptually extend the idea of the object. I was the invigilator for Michelle Murphy’s performance and after the piece was finished I asked Michelle if I could capture a moment with my Polaroid camera. Rather than working with the kayak directly, I decided to work with the Polaroid image I took that day. “What Remains” revolved around the significance and meaning of objects left after a work of performance art was finished, and the power these relics have to create new narratives and reimaginings that continue the legacy and honor the moments that exist in the collective memory of a community over the course of ten years.

My proposal for the project was to fly to Chicago from Athens (where I was living at the time) to install the framed polaroid, marking the opening of the exhibition. I arrived at the gallery on February 7 directly from the airport with my suitcase, walked to the center of the gallery, unpacked a metronome, and set it ticking. I then unpacked a silk screen canvas printed with the words “__.” I assembled a pole (also in my suitcase) and made the canvas into a flag. Using a ladder and a drill I then attached the flag pole to the wall along with the framed Polaroid. When finished, I gathered all my materials and left the gallery. It was important for me to emphasize the process of installing the visual art components as part of my performance. It was also significant for me to reference my former position as it was often my job as assistant curator to install work, and I reassumed this role for my action. The piece was an attempt to capture memories of being an integral part of a community and the feeling of belonging and purpose it gave me. When creating the work I was thinking about time and how things change, shifting geographies and experiences and social circles that expand and disperse. Yet all these things can come back together again to recreate and, somehow, keep a moment alive.