Terra Incognita

A hologram is a photographic technique that records light scattered from an object. Remove part of that light and the image remains intact, though at a lower resolution. Neuroscientists have shown that memories behave in much the same manner. A memory is dynamically distributed within a region of neurons such that if many of the neural connections subsequently disappear, the memory will persist but seem to ‘fade’. Perhaps this is why low-tech photographs with their deliberate blurring and poor resolution often resonate like deep-seated memories. Evocative and dreamlike, their ethereal forms can evoke fading memories and prompt a powerful ‘sense of place’. Nebulous and indistinct, the images allow scope for the viewer’s imagination.