TERRY S. HARDY
REMAINING: TREASURE OF MEMORY
(Lawrenceville, Georgia, USA)
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, I had the opportunity to go through my personal possessions (re)discovering the folder of photos my Mother had given me before her death in 2018. In the years prior to her death, she had carefully reviewed her collected family photographs giving her three children the images that best connected to each child. Often considered a person’s most valued belongings, old photographs capture moments in a life that can never be replicated.
REMAINING is a selection of twenty pictures of my childhood from my Mother’s collection organized specifically for me. Continuing my art practice of memorializing lives that have been forgotten while embracing authentic history, these framed black and white snapshots represent the recalled utopian time of my youth in rural Alabama from 1961 to 1967. Text of the year, my name and others in the photo will accompany each respective installation. The photographs will be installed along my street, Cedarwood Way, and my neighbors will be encouraged to become a part of the project by sharing their own treasured photographs.
Terry S. Hardy is a multidisciplinary artist. He draws from historic events, social issues and personal observations to make critical and artistic investigations into race, religion, sexuality, and identity. Hardy’s most recent work focuses on the intimacy of loss, memorializing those who are forgotten, and his mortality utilizing traditional graveyard elements such as flowers, granite markers, and text. His work has been included in more than 80 exhibitions in venues throughout the US and abroad.