Daniela Contreras - Identidades (Identities)

Daniela Contreras uses found photographs from the 50's and 70's to explore and analyze memory. When the faces are erased, it deprives the subject of any feature of true identity. After reading what the artist was truly interested in (exploring the "fragility" of memory, questioning identity and memory, etc.), I was reminded of false memories in my Psych 101 class. Our brain is specifically open to new experiences, pressure, and influence. More importantly, it doesn't want any gaps to be vacant. So it fills in the spaces (think when you're a child and you believe something may have happened, but video evidence/etc. proves otherwise). Without faces, these photographs have a sense of familiarity about them, and it makes them relatable. This may not have been quite the point the artist was trying to convey, but after spending a weekend looking through old photographs of my family, it's certainly the feeling I draw from them.