Vestoj x Sharjah Biennial 13
Beirut
On the occasion of Sharjah Biennial 13 in Beirut we are producing “Leaving Home”, a small publication with images from Rinko Kawauchi and texts collected by Anja Cronberg based on the migration theme.
Date: Oct 2017
Location: Sharjah Biennial 13 Beirut
Photos by: Rinko Kawauchi
Link: www.sharjahart.org
This is an extract from the preface text:
“What would you take with you if you were leaving home? What would you bring if you knew you weren’t returning?
Clothes carry memories, tell stories of who we are or want to be. These tactile residues and symbols of the past help anchor us when we feel lost at sea. Because don’t we all go through life, one journey at a time, discarding some things along the way, keeping others?
The things we carry, what do they say about us? For those forced by circumstance to leave the familiar behind, otherwise insignificant things often take on portentous meaning. An ordinary pair of sneakers becomes an emblem of a brother far away, a silver necklace connects you to your heritage, a winter coat bought cheap in a high street store has to double up as a duvet when all the beds at the nearest camp are full. Most of us don’t have to think about clothes like that; we focus on what makes us look good, or feel good. What makes us belong, or stand out. But for some, displaced by war or hardship, an everyday T-shirt, a pair of trousers or a scarf, turn into tangible material memories of times past, disappointments endured and victories won.
The things we carry give us shape.”
“What would you take with you if you were leaving home? What would you bring if you knew you weren’t returning?
Clothes carry memories, tell stories of who we are or want to be. These tactile residues and symbols of the past help anchor us when we feel lost at sea. Because don’t we all go through life, one journey at a time, discarding some things along the way, keeping others?
The things we carry, what do they say about us? For those forced by circumstance to leave the familiar behind, otherwise insignificant things often take on portentous meaning. An ordinary pair of sneakers becomes an emblem of a brother far away, a silver necklace connects you to your heritage, a winter coat bought cheap in a high street store has to double up as a duvet when all the beds at the nearest camp are full. Most of us don’t have to think about clothes like that; we focus on what makes us look good, or feel good. What makes us belong, or stand out. But for some, displaced by war or hardship, an everyday T-shirt, a pair of trousers or a scarf, turn into tangible material memories of times past, disappointments endured and victories won.
The things we carry give us shape.”