Katherine Percival’s Fragmented Recollection: Memory in Colour explores the instability of memory through mixed-media painting and collage that blur the line between recognition and abstraction. Rooted in personal experiences of witnessing a loved one’s decline into dementia while navigating fragmented recollections of childhood, the work examines how memory is shaped less by factual accuracy and more by emotional residue.

Each artwork is constructed through a process of disassembly and reconstruction. Hundreds of small coloured cubes, reminiscent of enlarged photographic pixels, form fragmented moments that oscillate between coherence and collapse. Some compositions suggest recognizable imagery, while others dissolve into fields of colour and fractured form, reflecting the inconsistent and non-linear nature of remembering. Through layering, repetition, and material experimentation, Percival transforms memory into something unstable: shifting between presence and absence, clarity and distortion.

Colour functions as both language and emotional architecture throughout the work. Specific palettes evoke nostalgia, fear, comfort, grief, and uncertainty, suggesting emotional truths that persist even when details disappear. Journaling, quotes, lyrics and material choices subtly reference deeper symbolic narratives, inviting viewers to consider the tension between what is remembered, what is forgotten, and what may have been imagined altogether.

At its core, Fragmented Recollection confronts the fear of being left only with emotional remnants while the details that once grounded them slowly fade away. Through abstraction and fragmentation, the work invites reflection on the ways memory shapes identity, perception, and personal history.