AS THE DAY PASSES BY
KIM GACEJA
May 21 - June 2, 2022
When measuring time, people are relying on memory punctuated by events. The more emotions a situation stimulates, the more we remember it. Time perception is of a paradoxical nature. At once both quick and slow. The perceived speed of which is relative to the intensity and novelty of phenomena. Blazing fast in moments of focus for one, and crawling at a glacial pace in others. It is a fundamental element of human awareness, to be conscious of the world around us and our sense of self in relation to our memories, the present, and expectations of the future.
Following repetitive motions, making laps around the same places. Only to go about doing the same things the next day. Days turn into weeks that turn into months; plans are set only to be postponed indefinitely. The monotonous dull the perception of time. What is there to expect for tomorrow but the same old rut? The blurring of the hours and the lost present. Day in day out, without a lot in the way of plans, life settles into a familiar rhythm.
Habits form in the routine. The usual has become natural, but unexpected events come around here and there. Uncertainty clouds change. Is it for the better or for worse? The program is rigid, it is safe. It is comfortable. But is it correct? Hesitation and fear appeal to the established. Is it ok to carry on with the accustomed, forgetting, or enduring past transgressions for the sake of the familiar? Tomorrow might bring hope but is it truly a comfort or is it just for survival? Fast comes the question, but excruciating is the search for an answer.
Kim Gaceja stills the passing seconds in “As the day passes by”. Attempting to recontextualize the familiar into opportunities for recollection and recognizing the passing of days as the stigma of collective forgetfulness and stagnation. It is a conscious query of the status quo and the value of change.
-Floyd Absalon
