On 1st September 2008, I'm heading for Europe to follow my mother's journey from Riga to Australia at the end of WWII. My mother, Mirdza Ozolins (nee Berzins), was 17 when she left Riga with her parents on on 9 October 1944 and she was 22 when she arrived in Australia in June 1949. She travelled through Poland, Germany and Italy, spending most of her time in Displaced Persons' Camp 2715 'Accu' in Hannover, Germany.This blog will document my attempt to follow my mother's footsteps and how I plan to turn my experiences into an exhibition of art work. While the story is personal, my project is about the broader themes of cultural displacement and its impact on identity.
My project is made possible by the 2008 Qantas Contemporary Art Encouragement Award.
3 comments:
What a fantastic idea! I wish you all the best as I have a sneaking suspicion many of us who forgot to ask our parents all those questions we really want to know now, will be following vicariously, and through a vehicle, an artistic process, probably more suited to the task than merely a documentsary one! Looking forward to following your adventures!! Brigita Stroda
I identify with going left instead of going right & visa/versa. Lets add up/down, in/out etc etc. Greetings and best wishes Brigita, family and friends in Latvia. Pat.
treasure... Leonard is the man to slit your wrists by...self-actualization is called for...something madly uplifting like Mozarts Requiem...your llllooooonnnnnggggg blog AMAZING...very jealous of the sexy studio and apartment...may have to resurrect the old supersonic rocket backpack from under the house...visited the Art Deco show and was faint with desire for some early French ebony and ivory furniture by Jacques-Pierre Ruhlmann...the purpose of the visit was to see Jim Lambie at ACCA which was a surprise as he mucked it up I thought by trying to add too much...I desperately wanted to go and in and say "sorry just need to pop these things out of here and we'll leave just the striped floor and the mattress on the wall(up high painted with glossblack enamel paint which dripped down to the fall...fantastic)...missing you...axo
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