Nothing is real except the present

"Nothing is real except the present" is composed of ten xerox copies of found snapshots that portray people during apparently happy moments in their lives. 
 
The xerox copies add an important symbolic layer to the project: on the one hand I want to celebrate the xerox machine as a vital invention which makes possible the dissemination of information and knowledge, and so allowed the preservation of our collective memory during the pre-digital era.  However, on the other hand the aesthetic of the photocopy makes the images appear distant in time, erases almost any realistic details, and adds a harsh blurring effect that turns the photographs into cold, distorted reproductions of real moments.
 
The installation will be designed to make the viewers/participants interact with the images. In fact each snapshot embodies a moment which should evoke further memories in the viewer who will be invited to respond with their own personal memory in the space provided. Though the project will begin as a 2 dimensional installation,  it will develop as a series of interactions and will finish with the creation of a mini-archive of the participants' happy memories .