Thesis 2025 / Maddy Kaudy

In the 14 months between November of 2013 and January of 2015, I lost both my mother and paternal aunt to ovarian cancer. The initial loss of these foundational relationships was acutely painful. Gradually, my memories have become the salve to these wounds. Recently, I lost access to both of my childhood homes, as one was demolished and one was sold. Surprised by the profundity of this experience, I realized the importance of the notion of “place” as a framework for memory. As I move into early middle age, I am losing more and more people and places each year. Simultaneously, I sense my memories becoming distorted with the passage of time, yielding an acute awareness of my own mortality.

I made this work in observation of the tenth anniversary of my aunt’s passing in 2015, and in response to the recent loss of the places I associate with my mom and aunt. This installation is an exploration of the ethereal nature of my memories, with their threads, sudden illuminations, and shifts with the passage of time. I consider memory to be the perfect expression of personal truth, even as it continually withdraws from actual truth. I titled this work Guardians as an homage to my memories of the people and places lost. My memories are the guardians of my personal truths, and the people and places they preserve were the guardians of my young self.

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