Welcome to the Stardust Motel: Sunny Memories of Holidays Gone By

Anna Carey must have an excellent memory. She hasn’t seen the Australian motels her models are based upon since childhood, but builds them retrospectively in extraordinary detail, happily allowing her imagination to fill in the gaps.

Often when we remember something, this is exactly what happens. Spaces and situations are transformed over time, and memory is never really 100% accurate. By elaborating on a basic remembered structure, Carey’s latest series ‘Stardust‘ is reflecting how the brain actually remembers things. Photographic memories are rare, and everyone remembers things to different extents, but by attempting to rebuild something seen long ago and then photographing it so that it appears to be full scale, Anna Carey is making us think about the memories that seem so real to us. At the same time she is making some playful and striking images that are charming to look at. A celebration of retro architecture and an exercise in reconstruction.

The images are all brightly lit with saturated colours evoking sunny holiday memories from years gone by. There are no people present, but the structures suggest sanctuary from everyday routine; they are places for good times to be had. It is this optimism that makes for a thoroughly pleasant viewing experience.