Memento

*IN PROCESS PICTURES

Memento:

The memory I chose for my memento piece was my first shark encounter. When I was 10 years old, I went on a surf trip with my family to La Jolla, California. When we got there the coast was experiencing red tide, or a severe algal bloom (a rapid increase of algae population in a given area-not particularly healthy for surrounding wildlife). The red tide causes the ocean to turn a dark red tint and makes it impossible to see even a few inches into the sea water. The first three days of our trip we got to experience the red tide, which gave the water a super ominous look and you were unable to see what may be swimming around you (ignorance can sometimes be bliss). On the fourth day, the red tide was completely gone and the ocean was crystal clear, allowing you to see the overabundance of sea life swimming around you. I decided to paddle out with my dad for an early morning surf, slightly overwhelmed by how visible the sea life was and how much activity there was. Half way out to the line up I noticed a lurking shadow to the left of me and looked over just in time to see a rather large shark swimming right at me and before I knew what was going on the shark bumped into my surfboard and knocked me into the clear water. This startled the shark and it swam a few yards away only to circle around and swim directly at me. Thankfully, my father was right by my side this whole time and he saw what was happening and he jumped into the water, splashing, in order to scare away the shark. This tactic worked and the shark swam off. I got back on my board, swearing I would never surf again and heading for shore when my dad proceeded to swim over to me. He told me to "suck it up buttercup" and made me paddle out into the line up. He wanted me to face my fear so I would become afraid of the thing I loved.

3 Materials:

Grey Leather- Ominous tone, texture and color symbolizing the shark, the material of leather also symbolizes strength and bondage.

Red Surf Wax- The wax symbolizes not only the surfboard and surfing but the overall day, the color red symbolizing literally the red tide but also figuratively danger and fear.

Clear Masking Tape- Symbolizing the crystal clear water, the texture represents my memory of the water that day.

I used two triangles, one made out of the grey leather and one made out of melted surf wax. I utilized the triangles because I wanted to emphasize the number three: me, my father, and the shark. The triangle also represents the triangular placement of all three of us along with the shape the sharks fin and the tip of my surfboard which were the last things I saw before getting knocked into the water. The triangles differ. The smaller triangle is covered the red wax, in which the wax underneath represents the red tide and the cause to the effect of what happened that day. This wax is then covered in the clear masking tape to show the transition from the red tide to the crystal clear water and the wax melted on top of the tape symbolizes the danger of the situation and the fear that surfaced as soon as I saw the shark. The surf wax is dripping in a downward/ fleeting fashion to represent the fact that I was overcome by the sense of fear by had to quickly overcome it and move onward. The other triangle is bigger and constructed out of the grey leather and also covered in the clear masking tape. This is a representation of the shark, being completely visible through the clear water. The crinkle effect that the masking tape makes is a representation of how the water looked after the shark hit me and I fell into the water. The smaller triangle not only symbolize how small I felt next to the shark but the bondage between the small triangle and the large triangle symbolizes my connection to my father, how metaphorically big he looked coming to my rescue. He became a heroic figure that day and the leather noted bond is the bond I felt with him after this day.