The search for something lost, yet memorized, can resolve to a finding that meets one’s initial expectations. A Hrönir, of the planet Tlön*, is an object of this kind. Once lost, it may be found by separate individuals—multiply duplicated—each finding the version of it they were most looking for. It is an object produced by the act of remembrance. Remembering the way it was; or the way one thinks, hopes, or wishes it were.

False Memory Machine is an algorithm that—in a process of remembering—produces artefacts of what could have been the case. The algorithm is trained by a set of one hundred and forty four objects that had in the past been meaningful for the artist. Objects connected to important life events and which provoke an emotional reaction. A horse toy; a eucalyptus leaf; a Chinese teapot; a mountain bike; a classical guitar; a left glove; an army rifle. From this process derives a possibility space, where new instances of objects can occur. The Machine gropes its way through this space just as a potter molds their clay, going through various forms, distorting, melding, blurring edges, at times coming across familiar details, and renders new objects real; never perfect, never true.

The false memories—presented as material things—resemble dug-up archaeological finds; fragmented, obscure, misshapen.

* Jorge Luis Borges, “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius”

Exhibited at Kulturdrogerie Wien and at the Austrian Federal Chancellery during December 2018, as part of KulturKontakt Austria Artists–in–Residence Program. (3D Printed Sculptures and Computer Animation)

Demetris Shammas - False Memory Machine
Demetris Shammas - False Memory Machine
Demetris Shammas - False Memory Machine
Demetris Shammas - False Memory Machine
Demetris Shammas - False Memory Machine
Demetris Shammas - False Memory Machine
Demetris Shammas - False Memory Machine