The book & the bridge, 2011

Digitally printed wallpaper, digital images, video 3" loop, picture frames, books, sack, traditional Latvian shawl, kindling
400 x 300 x 60cm (approx)
Journeys exhibition, Plimsoll Gallery, Hobart

 

The book and the bridge tells the story of two extraordinary events in my mother's life. One is about an encounter with a young man as she began her escape from Latvia with her parents and brother during WWII. While my mother's family carried with them one suitcase and a box of food, the young man was fleeing the country with a large sack of books. He gave one to my mother. It was called Pedejais Pagrieziens, which roughly translates as The last bend in the road.  The other event is the story of how my mother found out the war had ended. It revolves around an encounter beneath a particular bridge in Gusten, a small town in Germany.

This project was developed with the assistance University of Tasmania NARGS funding (New Appointee Research Grant Scheme) and resolves work begun as the result of receiving the Inaugural Qantas Contemporary Art Award in 2008.

Visit The Journey Home blog to read more about this ongoing project that explores ideas about cultural displacement, identity and loss. It is based on my attempt to follow the journey of my mother's escape from Latvia during WWII.

Download the Journeys exhibition catalogue here.

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