SACRED REVERIE: MEMORY, RITUAL, AND THE FAMILY PHOTO ARCHIVE

Abstract

This paper and accompanying exhibition explore the recontextualization of a personal family photo archive as a means to examine memory, grief, and cultural identity. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of Diana Taylor and Geoffrey Batchen, as well as the artistic practices of Carrie Mae Weems, Stephanie Syjuco, and Alayna Pernell, the work interrogates the emotional and historical layers embedded in vernacular photography. Through this process, photographs documenting childhood and immigration are revisited not to reconstruct the past, but to create new narratives and critical discourse in the present. The work reflects a broader inquiry into how personal and collective histories are shaped, preserved, and interpreted, and how the space between memory and image can become a site of connection across time and culture.