The Pearl Collector

In an era when time seems to slip away, an ambitious collector decides to build a "dream house" to launch into space—an archive of memories and visions suspended between the visible and the invisible. Inspired by Walter Benjamin's reflections on memory as constellations of meaning, the project explores the link between past and present through photography, not just as a record, but as a key to revealing hidden truths.
Working across multiple media, including photography, archival imagery, illustration, writing, and visual poetry, Alice Jankovic´s first book weaves together references to literature, art history, and mythology as tools for deciphering universal themes. These different visual and textual languages converge to construct layered narratives in which memory, imagination, and symbolism coexist.
Each image becomes a pearl that illuminates the folds of the dream, while Gaston Bachelard's concept of the "dream house" is transformed into a symbolic container for memories and sensations. Every room, outlined by vivid colors, opens up to dreams, memories, and emotions, creating a profound dialogue between what has been and what could be. This visual narrative invites the viewer to participate actively, interpreting the dreams through the lens of their own story, in a fascinating exchange of meanings and reflections on time and collective memory.