Memory Is The Future in Reverse

The collaborations between artist and filmmaker Johan Grimonprez and novelist Tom McCarthy – most notably in the film »Double Take« (2009) and the short »From Satin Island« (2015) – represent fascinating intersections of literary experimentation and visual artistry. Whether through the cinematic déjà vu of Alfred Hitchcock meeting his double or a poetic, abstract reflection on catastrophe and identity, the two construct deeply layered works that explore themes of doubling, our present media-dystopia, existential serendipity, and the traumatic underpinnings of modern life. 

In their conversation Johan Grimonprez and Tom McCarthy will make sparking connections between what they are both currently working on, forming a multi layered dialog – jumping from Greek tragedy to Modern advertisements, from Hitchcock to Freud, and reflect on archival reels as glitches in memory to bring up daunting questions such as: who makes history? Could memory be pre-emptive? In fact, is memory the future in reverse or is it that Imagination is the past fast forward?

The event will be moderated by Matthias Bruhn, Professor of Art Studies and Media Theory at Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design (HfG).