I am fascinated by the power that framing has over memory, and how the gaps created by forgetting/framing become an integral part of remembering (as discussed by Aleida Assmann in 'Forms of Forgetting'). In 'Images of the World and the Inscription of War', Harun Farocki observes how we can overlook vital information that is clearly set in front of us, just because our focus was elsewhere within the frame.

Building on the subjects of framing and memory, I explored the idea of ownership within the archive. During the course of this project whilst researching online image archives, I came across a range of silent home movies from the 1920s - 1960s. I noticed that the majority of these were uncredited and anonymous, yet they were licensable for a fee from commercial archives. It felt uncomfortable to be given the opportunity to purchase imagery depicting peoples' most treasured family moments, particularly from a third party with no relation to the people behind or front of the camera. 'A History Of The World According To Getty Images' by Richard Misek was an inspiration for this project, as it reflects on the archive images' exploitation as intellectual property.

For my project I have taken one 'anonymous' home movie, to see what I am able to discover from the imagery. Can I find out more than the archive was able to? If so, what does that say about the archive and their duty to the creators of the image?

I have purposely chosen a home movie available to license for a fee. This amateur footage has no audio nor any information regarding the person(s) behind or in front of the camera. The tile of the film is '1940 HOME MOVIE NEW YORK CITY & TIMES SQUARE, SEATTLE, SAN FRANCISCO & LOS ANGELES TRIP' and the description available reads 'Dating to 1940, and shot by an unknown American tourist, this beautiful Kodachrome home movie shows travel scenes that include a visit to New York City, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles'.

The outcome of this project compromises of a detailed research/analysis of the contents of the film footage. I then edited the pertinent clips and findings together, alongside my observations given in voice-over. My goal is to make the 'unknown American tourist' known.