Past, Present, Future

Week 17, 2018 → 2026

From the 2018 Archive, Week 17 of 2018, titled Past, Present, Future

I created this piece in April 2018.

At the time, it reflected a growing feeling that the past was not as distant as we often pretend it is; that certain systems, fears, and forms of control do not disappear completely, but re-emerge in new forms across time.

At the center of the piece was imagery from The Handmaid’s Tale, a fictional story built around religious extremism, authoritarian control, and the policing of women’s bodies.

Around it, the piece connected stories that on the surface appeared separate:
racial terror,
slavery,
immigration,
and historical memory.

Different eras. Different headlines.

But the same underlying patterns reappearing.

The reference to The Handmaid’s Tale was included as a warning. Fiction does not predict the future, but it can expose what may already be taking shape beneath the surface of public life.

In 2026, many of the same themes surrounding this piece are resurfacing again:

• debates over bodily autonomy

• the influence of religious ideology in government

• efforts to reshape historical memory

• and growing questions about power, freedom, and who gets to belong

The piece no longer feels tied only to the moment in which it was created.

It feels connected to a larger cycle:
the ways societies repeat, rename, or normalize patterns they believe belong only to the past.

The question is, if we can recognize patterns repeating in real time, what responsibility comes with seeing them?