Introduction
ERASURE: Damnatio memoriae is a Latin phrase associated with a practice dating back to the 4th century BCE deemed to be worse than death – the erasure of a person’s "essence or being." The condemnation of memory. Censorship, misinformation, propaganda, and the purging of memory have existed under many regimes throughout history, particularly under totalitarian regimes in the past century. They continue to play out now.
The series takes its inspiration from a box of photographs - the last remnants of my mother-in-law’s life. At twelve, the state police took her father; the rest of her family was lost shortly thereafter. Tamara was a victim of Stalin’s obsession with creating a collective society. The photograph was implicated in this process - the erasure of purged figures, censorship, surveillance, and intervention in private lives was the norm. There was a great deal of fear and mistrust - and the pressure of conformity was immense. Images from Tamara's box have pieces missing, parts torn off. These tender remains are combined with other vintage photographs from my collection and my recent work in Ukraine.
The players in this world include the wealthy landowners, the intellectuals, the spiritual leaders, and my beloved family members - a many-layered cultural milieu. Their images are bathed in pools of egg tempera combined with lapis, ochre, and 24-carat gold. These substances, often associated with the divine, are meant to exude an atmosphere of peace and conciliation. The images reflect the duality of beauty tinged with loss, the opposing forces of the frightening sociopolitical world and the poetry of the land, the people, the heart. The series is meditation and lacrimosa, personal and collective, history invisible and unspoken. It is both hopeless and hopeful. My intention is to give voice to those who have been erased by history - and honor their memory.
twitter
google+