The Memory of Water (part 1)

The ‘Memory of Water (part 1)’ explores Carl Jung’s notion of the ‘collective unconscious’, examining consciousness in the form of memory or perceived experience and the power of the gaze as that which mediates external phenomena. Sadia’s video explores the relationship between the drop and the ocean in terms of human experience. While the camera is trained in close up on their eyes, a series of people answer the question, “What is your most significant memory?”

The words and the eyes are played out of sync, so that one person’s voice speaks under another’s gaze. This simple device releases the memories from individual ownership, and the work becomes a gesture towards transcendence. Informed by the Jungian notion of the collective unconscious, The Memory of Water examines the gaze as a bridge between inner and outer worlds.