Julian Robbins



Memorandum





warning: this video contains discussion of a mass shooting event



Memorandum is a piece of experimental video, blending 3D and 2D animation, exploring the evolving nature of memory, the reflective nature of art, and the healing from trauma. When I was 8 years old, there was a mass shooting at my place of worship, the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Church. While I did not directly witness the event, the shared memory of pain greatly influenced how I grew up, and eventually, my art.



The 2D animations in Memorandum are animated versions of traditional pieces I made while processing the events of July 27, 2008, many years later, including several self portraits. These portraits, which I first drew at ages 15-17, capture the inner turmoil of a teenager who, like all teenagers, is struggling with the creation of a stable sense of self, while also reckoning with the need to integrate these traumatic events with their identity. As Memorandum progresses, I take the viewer through the confusion and heartbreak of such an event, into the misty world of reflection through art. Finally, through reconnection with love, a sense of hope and security is returned, as I take the viewer through a beautiful and brightly-lit scene, depicting "Flower Communion," a sacred practice of the Unitarian faith. The July 27th 2008 shooting at the Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist church resulted in the death of two congregants and serious injuries to seven others. The act was motivated by hatred for those whom were welcomed into the church with open arms: people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.


The event that finally brought me peace was a Flower Communion I attended in 2018 at the Arlington Street Unitarian Church in Boston. Flower Communion represents everything that made us a target, but also what makes Unitarian Universalism so beautiful. During Flower Communion, each congregant brings with them a flower which is added to a collective bouquet. Flower Communion is not only a celebration of the beauty of nature, but also a celebration of human diversity for whom, just like the flowers, no two individuals are the same. The history of the practice of Flower Communion is also significant. The ceremony was created by Norbert Capek in 1923 Czechoslovakia to unite his congregation without alienating those from any particular background. Tragically, hate-based targeting was not unique to my own church, and Capek was killed in a Nazi concentration camp during WWII. But still, the practice lives on in the face of intolerance.