Artist Statement of David Sokal I am an interdisciplinary digital image creator working somewhere between the time‐based and static word/image as this seems to be an area of inquiry ripe for interrupting the process of passive hearing/viewing and drawing the listener/seer into a deeper conversation about memory (i.e., the temporal aspect of our impossible condition), and ultimately, the nature of Being. What do I mean by “our impossible condition”? Words are not images even though both may describe. I might draw an image with words, or illustrate text with an image, but I don’t have a Rosetta Stone, a simple template, for these translations. To read “red” is not to see red. The color sensation produced by reading the word is an unintelligible echo: RED Translation is one part of the impossible condition of being sentient. Bound in mortal flesh, limited by our five senses and dependent on language for survival, we can only know through translation. It is true in art, science and love. The impossible condition in art may be exemplified by a transmitter naively expecting a record of their experience to be translated by a receiver into the initial experience. In science it may be described as the problem of knowing, when studying changes what is to be known. In love, it may be described as a desire to be one with the other, while still being oneself. I am attempting to create words/images that invite an active listener/seer to engage with their perceptions in such a way as to become more aware of our impossible condition. Memory capacity in the human brain is the result of eons of evolution. It is a tool allowing humans to manage the temporal aspect of our impossible condition by creating transmittable data banks of information. Linguistic memory (versus somatic) and the use of “signs” multiplies the functional efficiency of this tool allowing civilization to exist, continually increasing in complexity and adaptability. Still, linguistic memory depends on translation requiring us to constantly question and examine the very means by which we create our collective experience.