Apron series – part of Poetry of Functionality series (2000-2004)
All prints of Apron series are 30x40 inches, lambda prints, edition of 7
Other images series vary in size
For individuals, as for communities, it may be said that memory is identity. At the very least it is an essential part of it. To lose your memory is, quite literally, no longer to know who you are, and we have all witnessed the consequences both in individuals and in communities.
All societies have devised systems and structures, objects and rituals to help them remember things that are needful if the community is strong - the individuals and the moments that have shaped the past, the beliefs and the habits which should determine the future.
I grew up in East Germany. After the unification, the systems, objects and rituals we have devised were declared invalid, and we were asked to forget them quickly and entirely.
This body of work investigates the items, objects and the juxtaposition of objects (interiors) that trigger my memory, memory that has been subjected to interpretation, even has been censored, and has been subjected to sentimentality.
Objects stir recollection, and they inspire stories whose retelling constitutes memory. As memory itself is constantly on the move, so too are the narratives, in which the meaning of objects is embedded, forever evolving, reshaped in order to make our sense of the present lead coherently towards a desired future.
