Expand

Performance, Photographs, Videos, Installation, and Objects.

Images, Videos, and Objects by Hillerbrand+Magsamen
Written by Kirk Lynn

EXPAND dives deep into the hidden memories and histories embedded within the walls of a home, both literally and metaphorically. This collaboration between the artistic team Hillerbrand+Magsamen and playwright Kirk Lynn is an exploration of what lies beneath the surface of everyday life—those layers of archived experiences, family histories, and emotional imprints that make a house a home. For Mary Magsamen and Stephan Hillerbrand, who are now empty nesters, and Kirk Lynn, who is on the brink of that transition, this project is both deeply personal and universal.

As a radical gesture of memory excavation, Mary and Stephan literally dismantled parts of their house. They removed building materials—plaster, wood, insulation—and sliced them into thin layers using a European bread slicer, as though performing a medical biopsy on their own lives. The process, equal parts nostalgic and scientific, mirrors the precision and curiosity of mad scientists seeking to validate their recollections. By scanning and digitally manipulating these fragments through AI programs, they turned raw materials into mesmerizing visuals—a surreal investigation into the reliability and meaning of memory.

Kirk Lynn’s writing complements this exploration, lending a narrative voice to the project that amplifies its themes of transition, uncertainty, and discovery. Together, the team probes questions about how much of our memories are embedded in physical spaces and whether the stories we tell ourselves about the past align with what’s actually there.

EXPAND doesn’t just reflect on the personal histories of its creators—it invites viewers to question their own connections to place, memory, and time. It’s a vivid and evolving experiment, offering both an intimate portrait of its creators' lives and a universal meditation on the layers of meaning hidden in the spaces we inhabit.

Reilly Gallery, Smith Center for the Arts, Providence College, evidence, Rhode Island, September 4, 2024 – January 18, 2025
https://pcgalleries.providence.edu/exhibition/expand-hillerbrand-magsamen-lynn/

Hillerbrand + Magsamen: Expand, Lenscratch, by Barbara Ciurej, November 25, 2024
https://lenscratch.com/2024/11/hillerbrand-magsamen-expand/

What is a house?

It was built for protection but not for attack.

It was built to keep the weather out, but not to let the world in.  

It was built for silence on the street, not celebration in the city.

It was built for firm attachment, not easy floatation.

It was built for denying regret, not admitting fault.  

I want to find the last place in my house where my daughter’s breath is still hidden.

I want to find the first place in the house where my son fell down.

I want to track the echo of my last dog’s barking.

I want to find one hair combed out from the day we returned from our honeymoon. 

I want to chart every place of harm, every stubbed toe, every bump on the head, every finger caught in the door.