CLOUD
/klaud/ 
noun
1. a visible mass of condensed watery vapour floating in the atmosphere, typically high above the general level of the ground.
2. a network of remote servers hosted on the Internet and used to store, manage, and process data in place of local servers or personal computers.

Ken is an exploration in the concept of time as a representation of memory or emotion. In this project, I wanted to explore the aesthetics and the duality of the word cloud. In the traditional sense of the word, clouds are a natural formation of condensation or a physical representation of time passing. However in the modern day context of technology, the word cloud has developed into a technical term for computer system resources, including popular internet data storage services such as iCloud and Google Drive. This idea of clouds as a term for storing memories gave me the inspiration for this project.

Clouds have a sense of nostalgia to them. When I think of clouds, I often associate it with travelling or lying in my hammock reading, summer afternoons with really beautiful sunsets or hiking through stunning foreign landscapes. These moments evoke a real sense of peace and nostalgia for me and often remind me to put things into perspective and appreciate life.

This work was inspired by a memory I have of my dad, Ken. When I was in high school, I would often come home late after rugby practice and find him sitting in a dim lit room with a cigar in one hand, a glass of wine in another, and the beautiful sound of jazz or classical music playing from his vintage surround sound speakers. He would often do this after a long day at work, and as I grew older, I began to realise that my dad had this really amazing ability to really slow down and enjoy the little things in life.

In this project, I wanted to portray a time that has passed which only exists in our memories, yet a memory that is so profound that it still evokes a strong emotion when it eventually enters our mind again. Like a cloud in the sky or memories triggered by old photos stored on our iCloud, emotions come and go, and it is oftentimes beautiful, peaceful, tumultuous, energetic and serene.