Photographers Katerina Vasilas and Yuli Sato have come together to explore themes of identity, family histories, memory, and nostalgia in their latest analog photography exhibition, The Space Between. The exhibit will be featured at Arlington Five from March 14 to April 19.
While both came from different family backgrounds and levels of connection with their heritage, they said they were both interested in exploring their family histories differently than they normally would.
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Vasilas’s photographs showcase her work alongside archival images from her grandparents in Greece.
She says the conversations she had with her grandparents while creating this exhibit had sparked moments where it was “like they’re experiencing these memories at the same time that they’re telling them to me, and it’s kind of written on their face in a way.”
“It goes into this concept of post-memory, where you’re exploring how memories can be transmitted to those who haven’t actually directly experienced them. And I think that photography is one of the more popular mediums to explore that as well as, obviously, exploring oral history.”
Her photos incorporate these oral histories and many material aspects of her childhood growing up around her grandparents.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in Greece, as a child and also as an adult, and I think that one of the things that makes me feel so nostalgic is certainly elements of the natural world in Greece … I grew up with my grandparents only wearing dress clothing to go everywhere. And it’s kind of funny when you’re in an environment like that, where you’re in a field of grass and dirt, and you’re wearing fancy shoes,” she says. “I tried to incorporate elements like that as well as just belongings that I grew up around, whether it was in my own home or their home.”
She says other people who have similar backgrounds might recognize some of these things, and find some form of connection to their own histories within her work.
“A cool thing about archives is everyone has a different way of interacting with them, and it creates new stories — it’s really up to someone’s own interpretation,” she says. “There is also maybe recognition and power to be seen in the act of collecting certain physical, tangible objects like images, and using it as a way to segue into making meaning of or developing one’s own personal identity.”
Sato takes on a similar (but different) approach, incorporating her work directly with archival material from her parents’ families in Japan and England. For her, the focus was on creating ambiguity.
“A lot of it was re-contextualizing the archival images. I’ve combined, for example, … one of my dad’s images from England with a photograph that I took in Japan when I visited and … a photograph that I took in Alberta, which is where I grew up,” Sato says. “A lot of it was creating that overlap, but then also, the cultural overlap and questioning people’s associations.”
She says her work also overlaps personal and universal nostalgias.
“I think that there’s something to be said about being precious about art and photography, but I also find that there’s this freedom in letting preciousness go. And I feel like that’s kind of connected for me thematically, with like what do you inherit from your parents? Like, their character traits, or, is it genetics? Is it nature versus nurture? And these are all the things that I think about when I put these images together.”
The pair says they hope the photos they have put together will hopefully spark some meaningful conversations around memory, identity, and about other people’s family histories.
“I would want [audiences] to recognize that memories are always changing,” Sato says. “[identity is] constantly evolving, and it’s made up of our family’s memories and our family stories, which are also constantly evolving. So I want them to leave with questions, but also a sense of familiarity.”
There will be a vernissage on March 14, when the exhibit opens to the public, from 7-10pm.
The Space Between will be displayed at Arlington Five from March 14 to April 19, with a vernissage on March 14 from 7-10pm. Gary Franks and Jose Palacios will be DJing together for the vernissage.
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