I began The Memento Series in Arraiolos, a town in the Portuguese countryside where I was at an artist residency. When I would walk to town, I noticed plaster falling off the walls of the historic buildings. Soon, I began collecting the loose paint and plaster that collected at the base of the walls in a plastic baggy. When back at the studio, I'd sprinkle the granules into wet gesso as I prepared paper for paintings. I then used those prepared papers for a base to paint images of the historic objects scattered throughout the mansion.

The Memento Series function like complex memories of a personal experience, simple pictures of old objects, and actual chemical fragments of earth and clay from central Portugal.

Pamela Tucker

Pamela Tucker