RESEARCH & INITIAL IDEAS

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose"... from the television show - The Wonder Years.

From exploring Memory and Memories, the following information will influence the work that I will produce.

Memory is the organs ability to store, retain and recall information and there are three stages of formation and retrieval of memory. 

1. Encoding

2. Storage

3. Retrieval 

There are also three types of memory... Sensory Memory, Short-term Memory and Long- Term Memory.

 The part of the brain that stores memory is split into two halves, the right hand side controls and stores memories that reflect colour, shape and music, whereas the left hand side focuses more on memories that relate to speech, logic and math.  I plan to experiment creating

illustrations focusing on this idea of two halves, the my work follow this by being created using the themes of the memories that are kept on the different halves of the brain. My work reflecting the the right side of the brain would be abstract, following the ideas of shape and colour. Whereas the illustrations focusing on memories controlled by the left hand side of the brain will show logic through pattern, include text and portray math. 

I would like to produce a book, where the start is at both ends, I would design it so that each of the two themes of illustration would begin at either end and meet in the middle. Representing the two halves and two themes of memory. 

"I have no memory...."

Another aspect of Memory I would like to include in this project are the effects disease's that make us lose our memory like Alzheimer's and Amnesia, that can leave us with no memory at all resulting in a loss of identity.