Not Quite How I Remember It, Catalogue Essay

Written in conjunction with the group exhibition ‘Not Quite How I Remember It’, at The Power Plant, Toronto (7 June - 1 September, 2008), the catalogue essay considers how artists reconstruct events, narratives and cultural artifacts from the recent past. It focuses on works by exhibiting artists Diane Borsato, Gerard Byrne, Nancy Davenport, Felix Gmelin, Sharon Hayes, Mary Kelly, Nestor Kruger, Michael Maranda, Olivia Plender, Walid Raad, Dario Robleto, Michael Stevenson, Kelley Walker, and Lee Walton.

Exploring how artists revisit iconic as well as obscure histories, Reckitt shows how these strategies aim to wrest the past from master narratives in order to reveal suppressed or forgotten details, and to propose unexpected connections and speculative futures. She highlights artistic tactics of montage, sampling, remixing, restaging, and reconstruction, noting how they often take surprisingly laborious forms. Discussing how artworks reflect on the complexities of cultural and artistic transmission, influence and inheritance, Reckitt notes how these practices pay tribute to figures and groups who are rarely depicted within official histories. She highlights artists' concern with how radical political and cultural legacies are both bequeathed to and deployed by subsequent generations. Evoking the exhibition's atmosphere of layered time, Reckitt suggests that it sharpens viewers’ awareness of historical place, while prompting questions about how future generations will represent current times.