Memory Tearoom@ Boyd Studio1 Residency

Memory Tearoom

“Photography can be simultaneously both a record and mirror or window of self-expression, the camera is generally assumed to be unable to depict that which is not visible to the eyes and yet, the photographer who wields it well can depict what lies unseen in his memory.” Eikoh Hosoe

Memory Tearoom is a space to reflect and contemplate within an installation reimagining memories of migration. Collaboration between Yumi Umiumare and Brazilian Australian photographer/dancer Gregory Lorenzutti, they will share and collect stories of individual memories using photographs and rituals of tea ceremonies.

The artists will invite colleagues from diverse cultural backgrounds to join the ritual and share their memories and photographs. The fluidity and limitless capacity in the tea ritual, through the physicality of the body and photographs are the gateway to access and activate the space to share the individual past memories and present experiences of place, city, and home.

The idea is to engage with public audience in a collective space starting from individual memories and stories towards a collective body in connection with the building, the city and its inhabitants. Photographs can capture ‘slices of memory’ and key aspects of our collective memories in our fast changing community. They will collect the transformative moments in each participant’s life including their own migration stories to Australia.

This project is supported by the City of Melbourne Arts Grants and Creative Spaces programs.