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Publish in In Plain Sight: A collection of Response from the University of Washington Community by the Henry Arts Gallery, 2020.
Patterson's work was a part of an exhibition in the Henry Arts Gallery called In Plain Sight. This essay was a part of a collection where UW community members discuss the show. I reflect on how Patterson is a master teacher for recalling memories. With this work, she teaches that memories don’t die. They don’t transcend into an ether of no return, an incomprehensible land. Rather, they remain graspable. They can remain with us if only we allow ourselves to feel and celebrate their presence. I see the coffins and objects with the installations as relics of memories, the material manifestations of who and what occurred in the past. These relics magnify these memories and enhance the feeling of their presence, making the past not past at all. Celebrating the memory of the past because it’s always here. Within reach.
