Travis Mitzel

One day while I was sitting in the passenger seat of a car traveling somewhere I looked out the window. There was a woman with her two daughters waiting at the crosswalk; they all smiled at each other. The light changed and I never saw them again. Days later I thought about this scene and started having conflicting thoughts. Were the children both girls? Did they really smile at each other? The woman was pushing a stroller, but I also remember that she was carrying bags, did she have bags? Why do I seem to remember everyone carrying bags? Do people carry bags often? 

This ongoing series is a recreation of memories of people I’ve seen in passing. Instead of using models to reenact each scene I rebuild each memory. This method helps me physically work through the fact that memory is a creative process not an act of true recollection. I want my photographs to explore the imperfections of human memory and to contrast the fallible with a camera; which possess the technical ability to capture immense visual detail of a moment stopped in time.

I want to further explore why my brain deems certain experiences important enough to remember, albeit vaguely, when they appear to have no significance. So I spend my time roaming around, people watching, reflecting on the almost forgotten moments, waiting to be rebuilt, taken out into the real world, photographed, and shared with others.