What is nostalgia?

Nostalgia, as an abstract concept, can be defined almost as something different to each person, but the dictionary definition states that it is first a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition and second the state of being homesick.

How can the meaning of nostalgia be subverted?

Alternatively, what seems a positive and warm feeling can be reflected on and reimagined as an opportunity to deceive or conceal. By recalling the past in an overly positive manner, one can be led to erase any parts that may not align with this perfect image they have created in their mind. Some call this the ‘rose-tinted’ view – a metaphor that describes nostalgia as the experience of wearing ‘rose-tinted spectacles’, which naturally filter out any colder colours and only focus on the warmth of a scene.

How can we explore the abstract feeling of nostalgia as artists?

Becoming inspired by an abstract brief gives the artist a chance to interpret it in their own way and take the meaning as figuratively or literally as they wish, and in terms of nostalgia, this can leave opportunity for a focus either on the positive side of the feeling or perhaps on the deceptive negative alternative. Additionally, one of the most interesting features of nostalgia to me is how it can be a multi-sensory experience. A smell, sound, sight, taste or texture can bring someone back to a specific time and place in an instant, and this is most interesting to me because I believe it opens more doors in terms of exhibiting methods. As seen in Playtime, artists are justified in incorporating elements of every sense and therefore are free to produce more well-rounded experiences for their viewers.