Circus of Memories

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Antique shops and warehouses are unique worlds full of forgotten stories. These collections of unrelated objects form fascinating pictures of what we leave behind and of memories we can’t quite recall. When an object loses its connection to the past, it becomes part of a larger reality — the seemingly random collection of stories, ideas and histories that make us human.

These images were photographed as found and not constructed or assembled except by the shopkeeper’s whimsy or neglect. Printed using the bromoil process— a 19th century photographic technique that uses brushes and ink — the images share the look of a drawing or etching. The handmade bromoil prints were scanned and printed on canvas with layers of encaustic medium added to create the final piece. The sensuous, translucent wax of the encaustic process contributes a more lifelike representation and evokes ideas of preservation and history.

Traveling from their original homes to junk stores and, finally, becoming the art pieces in this Circus of Memories, the icons or symbols gather a new purpose along the way. As viewers, we stir together personal stories and memories and flesh out each object’s mystery, giving voice to the silence and a third life to these odd guardians of the past.