the graveyard of memories

Written by Weston Teruya

In The Graveyard of Memories, a loosely interconnected short film, series of photographic portraits, and sculptural installations, Tariq Stone imagines the speculative history of our discarded objects. Through these lushly captured vignettes, he asks us to consider the paths our trash charted before it ended up in the waste pile. What is the emotional life of our things?

In his film, Juno, Stone’s deeply empathetic, titular character can only experience life through the echoes of others’ memories that she psychometrically calls forth from the trash she finds strewn about. The liveliness of some of these recollections contrasts with the melancholic detachment Juno experiences by only living lives that aren’t her own. As we see her recount and move through these object histories, all characters, even in photographs, are played by the same performer, reinforcing her supreme loneliness even in a world filled with people and their thoughts. Stone’s photographic series gives us another angle on these material stories, depicting densely staged, surrealist scenes of other people engaging with their couches, clocks, tubs, childhood play sets, and TVs. In these, we’re asked to unpack and reconstruct the potential narratives from the assembled costumes, symbols, and characterisation, paralleling Juno’s inner journey.

By inviting us to dive deep into the memory of things, to consider the roles they play in our day to day life, Stone challenges us to engage with our world of stuff–and the people around us–with more care and intention. As we can see in Juno’s narrative, this doesn’t mean swinging toward hyperconsumption or object fetishism. For the most part, the trash Stone has chosen are not heirloom items that we pass between generations. Instead, his imagined world tasks us with a kind of mindful stewardship that might temper our tumbling rush toward a numb, disposable culture focused on extraction.

NORTH Wall

EAST Wall

SOUTH Wall

Additional Images From The Series

THE EXHIBITION

MEET THE TEAM BEHIND JUNO

I could’t have pulled off Juno without this absolutely amazing team behind me, with their help we were able to complete the film in 2 months from idea to final film.

  • Mehaa Mekala

    LEAD / WRITER

    Mehaa Mekala is an actress, singer, and writer born and raised in the Bay Area. Growing up with a theatrical background performing in plays, musicals, and dance, she works now primarily in on-camera storytelling. Recently, she’s starred in a multitude of diverse short films ranging from (but not limited to) heartwarming love stories, coming of age retellings, and wacky satirical horror comedies. She has trained for years in classical and contemporary acting methods through the teachings at many renowned theaters in Berkeley and SF. She believes that the beauty of film lies entirely on how it aims to influence and is proud to collaborate on this complex story in hopes to deepen audiences’ communal sense of empathy towards the environment and people of the world.

    Website: backstage.com/u/mehaamekala

    Instagram: @mehaamekala

  • theo garvey

    ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

    Theo Garvey is a dedicated director, writer, and 1st AD with an unwavering passion for creating art that resonates with the LGBTQ+ community. Constantly striving to enhance their skills, Theo embraces challenges across diverse mediums, including documentaries, short films, animation, fashion photography, and portraits. Passionate about supporting their peers, they excel in producing and bringing others' visions to life, even within limitations. Theo delves into themes of grief, queer identity, and female rage, resonating with young femme queer individuals navigating self-discovery in a complex world.

    Website: theothedirector.com

  • GABBY YABUT

    EDITOR / SCRIPT SUPERVISOR

    Gabby is a Filipino filmmaker and editor based in San Francisco. She enjoys the filmmaking process, particularly the collaborative aspect. Gabby's favorite places to be are on set and in the editing room, where they witness creative minds clashing and combining to create something greater than what any one person can accomplish alone. Gabby believes that filmmaking is a medium capable of touching the hearts of its audience. Her goal is to inspire people to take action by telling stories about environmental and social injustices.

    Website: https://bio.site/gabbyyabut

    Instagram: @gabbyyabut

  • EMILY HERNANDEZ

    PRODUCTION DESIGNER

    Emily Hernandez is a Production Designer and Filmmaker, with influences from punk and alternative subcultures Emily takes their passion for filmmaking and uses their art to amplify voices and opinions that need to be heard. Their application of this ranges from working on narrative films with diverse crews and inclusive stories to sharing their own voice through experimental film mediums. Currently, Emily is entering their third year at San Francisco State University for their BA in Cinema with a Minor in Classics. As well as their studies, Emily is currently the Theater Management Intern at Shapeshifters Cinema in Oakland, California.

    Instagram: like.the.letter.m

  • Samantha Williams

    COMPOSER

    Samantha Williams is a film and media composer born and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland. Samantha has composed additional music for a PBS-NOVA special-Sea Change: The Gulf Of Maine. She has also composed for short films from film students at California College of the Arts, Rhode Isl and School of Design, Mass Art, Emerson College and Maryland Institute College of Art. Through her close collaborations with film directors and artists, Samantha has established herself as a composer that’s “pushing creative boundaries'' (Director. Boxi Chen) and dedicated to achieving excellence in her work. She's recently been selected as a composer for the upcoming show "'Evolution of Earth"- A live orchestra performance and visual experience with the help of an all immersive 360 degree space.

    Website:https://samanthawilliams827.wixsite.com/samanthawilliams

    Instagram: @smw.music

  • MARLEY JAMES

    WRITER

    Marley James is an emerging filmmaker with a focus on exploring complex emotional and psychological themes through character-driven narratives. Inspired by directors like Noah Baumbach and Charlie Kaufman, Marley aims to craft stories that delve into human relationships, identity, and mental health, using a blend of realism and surrealism to capture the intricacies of the human experience. With a strong foundation from his time in college and self-directed study, Marley has developed a unique visual storytelling style, drawing on personal experiences and a passion for film to create thought-provoking and emotionally resonant work.

  • JOVANN GUEVARA

    ASSISTANT CAMERA

    Jovann Guevara is a cinematographer and camera assistant of Black and Latino ethnicity, based in the Bay Area. With a portfolio ranging from film to music videos, his visual language makes use of high-contrast with vibrant colors to create a surreal and hyper dramatic look. Having grown up in the East Bay, his work is just as diverse as the area he grew up in. Whether it’s highlighting local musicians/ vendors, or shining light on issues within Black and Mexican communities, respectively, Jovann Guevara makes it known that he loves his people and will always put them first.

    Instagram: jayguevara.dp

  • KELLY DUONG

    POST SOUND DESIGNER & MIXER

    Kelly is raised and based in San Francisco. Her mission is t o create representation and uplift voices surrounding queer and racial issues. She is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in BECA and Cinema at San Francisco State University and works mainly as a production sound mixer and sound designer. She worked in numerous films, one noticeably named “Hammer of Witches” which won 3 film festival awards. She takes pride in being meticulous and thorough with her sounds.

  • STEVEN ZENG

    COLORIST

    Steven Zeng is a Canadian American filmmaker based in the Bay Area. He currently studies Environmental Science, Data Science, and Journalism at UC Berkeley. In his free time, you'll find him watching cat videos or browsing for lights at Home Depot.

    Website: stevenzengdp.com

    Instagram: @stevenzengdp

    Email: stevenzengdp@gmail.com

  • CENCERE BAKER

    STILL PHOTOGRAPHER / GRIP

    As a child, Cencere Baker grew up in a household with a strong love for cinema. This love instilled in him a desire to build his own stories by capturing the fleeting moments of everyday life and pulling from his experiences and emotions. Choosing the editing room as his bastion of creativity, Cencere is actively honing his visual style in the San Francisco Bay Area by combining his love of analog film aesthetics with the ever-expanding world of digital media creation, anchoring his work in a feeling of nostalgia. He cherishes our collective ability to create and strives to construct stories that are not only visually stunning but also bridge perspectives to bring people together.

  • LEWI THUTE

    VFX ARTIST

    Lewi is an Indo-American animator based in San Francisco. His passion for animation began at the age of 11 when he started making small Lego animations out of a desire to create with whatever resources were available. Since then, his love for animation has only grown. He is currently a third-year animation student at the California College of the Arts, specializing in 3D character animation, 3D lighting, 3D layout, rigging, texturing, 3D environmental modeling, and compositing.

    Website: lewithute.com

    Email: lpthute@gmail.com

    Instagram: lewivfx

  • Micheal Soleta

    ON-SET SOUND MIXER

    Michael is a Fil-Am filmmaker born and raised in the Bay Area. He is also a senior at SFSU, majoring in Cinema, minoring in Video Game studies with a focus on production sound and sound design. Michael has worked on multiple features, short films, and documentaries and has found that the collaborative art of filmmaking is very fulfilling and exciting. In his spare time, he likes to cosplay, attend concerts, and go on road trips. He also really loves to jam out by covering songs using a variety of weird instruments such as the talkbox.

  • Julian Vargas

    GAFFER

    Julian Vargas is local Gaffer and Grip in the Bay Area. In addition to Grip work, Julian is a part-time videographer and boom operator for short films, narrative films, and sports media operations local to the Bay. Furthermore, Julian hopes to become a full-time Videographer post graduation from UC Berkeley, and explore the social media side of the media productionMindustry.

    Email: Jvargas760@berkeley.edu

    Instagam: oof_julian

  • niku radan

    HAIR & MAKEUP

    Niku Radan is a multimedia artist who’s spent the better half of the last decade satirizing the human condition using a unique blend of body horror and humor. She studied traditional visual art at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts and holds a B.A. in Broadcasting, with an emphasis in Television Writing, from SF State University Having been trained as a painter and screenwriter, Niku expanded her artistic reach by utilizing forms like trading cards, poems, leaves, makeup, blogs, and zines. She’s had her writing published by magazines like Writer’s Block, had her skits shown at events like Cooper Union’s Electric Carnival, and had her comic featured in Cowlick Comics 7. She acted as an HMUA and model for Tariq Stone’s “The Garden of Memories” series. Niku is currently focused on writing and illustrating a booklet about her character, a young popstar named Goulash. She uses the character as a tool for critically examining celebrity culture while exploring the ugly everyday feelings we keep to ourselves. She’d like to incorporate more performance into her future work. She gets stressed out trying to pick a favorite color, loves everybody, and hates nothing.

  • JOOYEON KANG

    2ND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

    Jooyeon Kang is a filmmaker based in San Francisco, mainly working as a director or assistant director for a short narrative film. Focusing on the social structure and discrimination, her films talk about feminism, queer, and capitalism.

    Website: ynkang.com

    Email: jynkangvid@gmail.com

  • Sam Hyatt

    GRIP

    Sam Hyatt is an independent filmmaker based out of San Jose, CA and founder of the Bay Area-based Super Nominal Productions. His most recent projects “Raise The Bar” and “Advanced Placement” have screened at the SF Indie Shorts Film Festival, Charlotte Film Festival, and Atlanta Shortsfest. Sam loves to focus on the minutia of daily life and flip it on its head to create surreal viewing experiences. He is always looking to help out on Bay Area productions that make the strong indie filmmaking community here so special.

    Email: sam@supernominal.media

    Website: supernominal.media

    Instagram: @super_nominal

  • BRYAN AVELAR

    GRIP

    Bryan is a producer, gaffer, and audio technician, but ultimately documentarian, out of Berkeley. He wants to tell stories that center around the Latino voice, paying it forward to his farm working hometown of Delano, CA. Bryan has completed 8 narrative projects in the last 2 years, some with Cinematic Arts and Production Club at UC Berkeley (CAP Club), and some independent.

    Email: bryanavelarbusiness@yahoo.com,

    Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/bryan-avelar

  • Krishnaa Nair

    GRAPHIC DESIGNER

    Krishnaa is a US-based Indian digital artist who recently graduated from the California College of the Arts in San Francisco, where she honed her artistic skills and gained invaluable knowledge in graphic design. With a strong passion for art direction, illustration, package and book design, and creating visual identities for brands, Krishnaa is constantly seeking innovative solutions to exciting challenges. She thoroughly enjoys collaborating with fellow artists and bringing large projects to life. Beyond her artistic pursuits, Krishnaa can often be found in the park, observing and interacting with dogs or enjoying a spirited game of soccer.

    Website: krishnaanair.com

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