Memory Palace was a site specific exhibition on view at Flyweight Projects, a 1:12 scale exhibition space for solo projects organized by artists Clare Torina and Jesse Cesario.

Memory Palace explores the ancient Greek strategy of memory enhancement, which uses imagined visualizations of spatial environments in order to improve information recall. Unrelated data, facts, or figures are referenced directly onto an imaginary spatial map—in this case, the gallery space. By walking through the invented space, one can retrieve memorized items in a particular order. Every object or photograph in Memory Palace is a fantastical indicator.

Memory palaces are based on forced connections between object and idea. This concept is extended to the central object in the show: a closer look at the triangular photograph reveals that it is a mirror stereoscope. Look at the photograph frontally and the image is whole, but pivot to the right or left and the illusion is shattered; a stereoscopic image, when complete, is nothing but a distortion. We are viewing two separate images, seen independently by each eye. The illusion of the complete image is created entirely in our minds—the brain fuses the two images and accepts them as a view of one solid three-dimensional object.

Every angle of Memory Palace, including the mirrored ceiling, reveals a new composition through reflections. Strange objects, forced connections and misleading illusions call into question what is real and what is fake, underscored by the inherent deception of Flyweight’s miniature scale.