Crystal Wang

Touching the Past

This work begins with my fragments of childhood memory. The objects I photographed are all items left by my family. They exist quietly in daily life, yet carry a past that cannot be fully articulated.My memory of childhood is vague, even absent. Therefore, these images are not simply records of objects, but attempts to re-approach and reconstruct memory. When I return to these items and touch them, the gesture itself becomes a connection: linking present and past, as well as what is known and what is lost. In this work, “touch” is not only physical, but also perceptual. It reflects my understanding that memory is not fixed or statically preserved; rather, it is continuously activated and reconstructed in the present. Each act of touching becomes a re-entry into memory, keeping it in a state of flow and change.The work takes the form of an accordion book, offering multiple ways of viewing. It can be read sequentially, page by page, or fully unfolded to reveal all images at once. These shifting modes of viewing reorganize the relationship between time and memory - fragmented, yet capable of being perceived as a whole.The book is not only a container of images, but also a metaphor for how memory operates: allowing fragmentation, reconfiguration, and simultaneity. Memory here is not a fixed past, but something continuously produced through each act of viewing and touch.