Dreams of Paradise

The Persistence of Memory 

Memory is what shapes us. Memory drives our aspirations and our search for happiness, for paradise. This project is situated within the architecture of memory, where it explores issues of journey and migration, reminiscence and desire, and the transformation that results when emotions overlay physical xperiences of place. Its structure is the juxtaposition of the journey of paradise with a personal life journey, with memory as the driving force. In explorations and re-formations of paradises, it examines the internalization of place t hrough memory and emotion, and extrapolates the powerful desires thus formed into new expressions of paradise. Paradise - this powerful construct - has endured millennia, manifesting in painting, pottery, tiles, poetry, stained glass, carpets,....and in architecture. As a place, Paradise is about contrast and tension : outside versus inside, lush garden versus arid desert, abundance versus desolation, growth versus stasis. It is about the sanctuary of a garden in contrast to the desert. Transformed into concept, it is about the promise of the ultimate sanctuary of happiness, a sanctuary against death and oblivion. The journey of dissemination and transformation of Paradise is testament to the potency of memory as it propels change, interpreting physical space as we project the dreams of our internal architecture to re-fashion our world.