Densho Memory Net Remembrance Project
February 19, 2022 (Day of Remembrance)
In recognition of the 80th anniversary of Executive Order 9066, Densho is launching a new community art initiative: the Memory Net Remembrance Project. In collaboration with Densho resident artist Lauren Iida, we invite submissions of “memory objects” that symbolize hope, strength, and/or resistance for you or your ancestors during WWII Japanese American incarceration. Lauren will select from these objects to incorporate into a 30-foot-long cut paper net to be hung as a semi-permanent installation in Densho’s community room. This project lives at the intersection of Densho’s shared commitment to art, archives, and activism, and we hope it prompts reflection and dialogue as we approach this upcoming milestone. Please join us in this powerful act of remembrance!
Iida assembling "memory objects" in the paper net before installation at Densho
"Memory objects" submitted by the public
"Memory Net of Remembrance" installation
"The Memory Net “dredges up memories” which are expressed as symbolic objects “trapped” in the cut paper net. We can revisit these memories, then let them sink back down to the undefined space where memories exist. These could be memories of a place, memories of individuals or collective memories of a community. We don’t necessarily live everyday with our memories, good or bad, but the Memory Net project offers a way for us to temporarily revive and honor the memories which will always exist on some unseen plane of existence. The Memory Net Remembrance Project is part of an ongoing hand-cut paper installation series meant to create conversations surrounding topics such as homelessness, cultural identity, memory, and loss." - Lauren Iida