Black TOM and White TOM form a dual-channel video installation by Julia Zurilla, presented on vertical monitors suspended from ceiling to floor, placed face to face to create an immersive spatial dialogue. Each channel features a grid of twelve circular windows: fragments of mid-20th-century 8mm family films set in idyllic South Florida, interspersed with images of storms, windswept landscapes, and fleeting moments of leisure.

On a black (Black TOM) or white (White TOM) background, these ephemeral images appear and vanish at random, evoking the mechanics of memory games and the impermanence of recollection. The circular frames act as both lenses and vaults—isolating each memory while also suggesting the impossibility of containing the past.

The title references the Black Tom explosion of 1916, an act of sabotage that marked a pivotal shift in American history and the politics of erasure. Through this historical lens, the installation meditates on the fragility of archives, the latent violence embedded in history, and the silent mechanisms of forgetting. By inviting the viewer to move between the two screens, Tide of Memory transforms nostalgia into a critical reflection on the vulnerability of both memory and landscape in the face of change.

Curated by WOPHA.