Housed in a structure that mimics the idea of a 'memory theatre', It has to be this way¹ (2009) traces the story of Lindsay Seers' stepsister, Christine Parkes, who loses her memory after a moped accident. Told through the voice of her ex-partner the story tells of how, in an attempt to reconstruct her identity, Christine becomes fixated on an archive of family photographs and on the historical character Queen Christina of Sweden.

There are references to the practice of alchemy in the video itself and in the large sculptural star outside of the structure. The work draws on historical theories of vision, interweaving personal narratives with science, philosophy and photographic theory to investigate how cinema and photography shape our memories.

The piece dramatizes the notion of self-hood and treats history as something that is not fixed, but continually reconfigured in the present through the image technologies we rely upon every day for our very sense of being.

Visitors are invited to take a copy of the novella by M. Anthony Penwill, an integral part of the work. This book presents research notes, manuscripts and reproductions of the fateful photographs from which Lindsay tries to make sense of her stepsister's disappearance.