TETHERED SERIES:
The series, Tethered, addresses the innate fear of forgetting where an individual’s family originates, both physically and historically. After discovering that my family was almost completely annihilated during the Holocaust, I began producing Tethered as visual documentation of the long-term effects of families of survivors. The series is also influenced by my grandmother’s experiences as a Mauthausen concentration camp survivor and my own experiences being raised by a survivor.
The knowledge of the imminent loss of memory initiates an instinct to repetitively record and remember personal history. Numerous memories have been forcefully buried in the darkest recesses of the minds of many family members-- they continuously surface through communication with my mother and grandmother. As personal memory is collectively shared, psychological effects of the survivor pass on through storytelling. As artistic objects develop, I continue to search for threads between history, place, and identity to demonstrate a new story.
The books and prints in the series symbolize the compilation and transportation of memory that is witnessed through sensory communication and observation. Fragility of memory and history is emphasized through the use of materials and construction of each object. Many of the objects reiterate the struggle to address what is missing or what will eventually disappear and never return. Other objects symbolize the residual effects of the past and how they are still present in family’s daily lives. The iconography of loss plays an important role in constructing each piece, creating a complex relationship between narration and symbolization. With each object, I attempt to grasp a lost identity and the haunting memories of experiences that are not fully understood.
The knowledge of the imminent loss of memory initiates an instinct to repetitively record and remember personal history. Numerous memories have been forcefully buried in the darkest recesses of the minds of many family members-- they continuously surface through communication with my mother and grandmother. As personal memory is collectively shared, psychological effects of the survivor pass on through storytelling. As artistic objects develop, I continue to search for threads between history, place, and identity to demonstrate a new story.
The books and prints in the series symbolize the compilation and transportation of memory that is witnessed through sensory communication and observation. Fragility of memory and history is emphasized through the use of materials and construction of each object. Many of the objects reiterate the struggle to address what is missing or what will eventually disappear and never return. Other objects symbolize the residual effects of the past and how they are still present in family’s daily lives. The iconography of loss plays an important role in constructing each piece, creating a complex relationship between narration and symbolization. With each object, I attempt to grasp a lost identity and the haunting memories of experiences that are not fully understood.