WE ARE HERe

2018 THE GIFT, MUSEUM OF AUSTRALIAN DEMOCRACy, CANBERRA, ACT
2016, glen eira council gallery, CAULFIELD, VIC

2016 DUO MAGAZINE PERCIVAL PORTRAIT AWARD, PINNACLES GALLERY, TOWNSVILLE, QLD
2014 MUA HUMAN JUSTICE AWARD, 63RD BLAKE PRIZE, UNSW GALLERY, PADDINGTON, NSW

We Are Here are the final words of the anthem for Jewish resistance, resilience and hope during the Holocaust and ever since. As the survivors’ time is running out naturally, I felt compelled to tell just one story that encapsulated the spirit of the words to poignantly show the ability of a person to overcome the forces of hate and evil. Richard at 94, gifted me his story and his most prized possession, his belt that survived with him through three concentration camps.

RICHARD’S STORY TRANSCRIPT
RICHARD’S STORY IN HIS VOICE - AUDIO

Richard 2014, Archival Ink Jet Print, 120 x 77cm

The Belt, 2015, Archival Inkjet Print, 89 X 210cm

Richard’s belt, the only possession he had retained from his homeland of Poland, is monumentalised by its scale to reveal detail of historical scars.

The ‘shroud’ hung as a prop in the portrait, Richard. At 94, Richard understood its symbolism and embraced the idea that his story and belt would emerge from the ruptured threshold , through his hands, into the present and onto the future. After his death, the words of his story take his place on that ruptured fabric.

Installation View