The Machine Forgets

Itoshima, JAPAN - This submission by video artist David McGovern was set to be exhibited in Japan, but had to be cancelled. This excerpt previews a contemplative, beautiful piece, and I hope we get to see more some day!

From the submission by the artist:

The Machine Forgets (忘却機) is an experimental sci-fi short, intended for screening in Itoshima, Japan in April 2020 as part of a collective arts residency exhibition. The show, due to take place April 25 & 26 at Studio Kura, is cancelled due to Japan’s state of emergency. The film has been installed and viewed by the artists, who are unable to return to their respective homes in Ireland, Canada, Taiwan and The Netherlands.

The film, shot between Nepal and Japan, reflects on the tethers of remembering. The narrator recounts his daily ritual of forced forgetting, a self-imposed practice of banishing memories. His intention is to live a life free from an erratic mind. He offers the viewer the chance to experience a digital version of his forgetting technique. He warns you that this will erase your memory. 

The pandemic is hard. It’s a time when thinking towards the future can make us impatient, and remembering the past can bring melancholy. The film imagines a machine and meditation routine that would allow us to erase particular memories of trauma, expectation and disappointment. It speculates on how peacefully we might live if we stay present; and staying present feels like what we need to do during this crisis.