Leila Khabagnote: Forget Me Not Gale Antokal Gallery, 03/07/2022–03/11/2022 Advisors: Binh Danh, Jonathan Fung Works in the Exhibit

Artist's Statement

“Forget Me Not” centers around memory and regret that play with both content and form. Memory is fickle, changing, and reconstructed. Photography is a way to immortalize moments in time and assist in retaining memories. Despite this idea of photography being a tool in making a fleeting moment permanent, it is just as fickle as memory, aiding in altering and erasing memories. These ideas are explored in this series, drawing from photos from my personal and family archive using overt manipulations. I overtly draw attention to these elements through various Photoshop and hand-done manipulations. These alterations emphasize what one chooses to conceal and forget but can never truly erase. Some manipulations are literal, while others are ambiguous. With each photo and manipulation, a conscious hand interferes, deciding what is precious and worthy of being concealed or retained with the presented photo and memory.

Growing up in a family that rarely speaks of the past, I use these photos to imagine a story from my unspoken family history, like how the viewers imagine what is underneath the manipulations. These are presented in connection to my photos that I know the story and history behind. I look at how family image and memory are constructed by connecting a thread between my parents' childhood, my own, and recent family memories.