Memories are hard. They are hard to create and hard to hang on to. I created “72” to illustrate what I believe a memory looks like and to explore the tension between the joy of living in the moment and the fear of time slipping away. These photographs were shot on a point and shoot camera with 35mm film. The images were initially shot in Austin, Texas, accidentally double-exposed during my time working in upstate New York for the summer, and finally triple-exposed when I returned to Lawrence, Kansas for college. While I did not intend to double-expose the roll, I seized what could’ve been seen as a fluke as an opportunity to play around and create new, exploratory images. When I returned home to Lawrence, Kansas and developed the roll of film, I was quite pleased with the results. The past three months of my life, my adventures in three different states, and ultimately, 72 different memories were intertwined together on one roll of film. Being 21 years-old and a junior in college, I have no shortage of people reminding me that “these are the best years of your life.” I agree with them, I’m having a great time, but I am also anxious watching my “best years” become memories. These photographs are my attempt to hang on to what is slipping away and serve as my interpretation of what memories and passing time feels like in my twenties. Moreover, they act as a metaphor for the process of a memory; as my film condenses 72 moments into 24 negatives, the mind acts as the same: some memories cement themselves while the rest fade into the background, new experiences layering on top, and on top again.
