I have decided to take the plunge and investigate my childhood and that of my four sisters through sculpting. This new body of work, tilted ‘Dappled – Growing Up with Shadow and Light’, will be shown at Lanesboro Arts in the early fall of 2021 – stay tuned for details.
This show will give insight into my early life growing up in Germany. Like many of my generation, I have been raised by parents with varying, often severe levels of trauma from living through World War 2 and it’s aftermath (in my father’s case, direct combat followed by forced labor in a Russian interment camp).
My father’s trauma was more severe than my mother’s and never treated, which was common at the time. He still took on the role of father and husband, full of good intentions. My parents didn’t understand that not shielding us from their emotional turmoil, but instead expecting us to carry it with them, deeply affected our mental wellbeing. Working on this series is emotional, but it also helps me to recognize habits to unlearn, darkness to release, and accepting and loving who I am because and not despite of my childhood.
Sharing my motivation to make these pieces has led to some invaluable and touching conversations with friends and acquaintances that have similar experiences with loved ones who have been affected by war or trauma. People from the opposite side of WW2, whose families have been traumatized by Nazi Germany’s brutality, have opened up to me. Feeling forgiveness, and openness towards my story is humbling and very healing.
My hope is that this sculpture series will draw attention to the fact that all wars have a tremendous human impact and affect generations of people long after the war itself is over – whether you were on the ‘winning or the ‘losing’ side. I hope it will compel the viewer to offer compassion rather than judgment when they see a person struggle, transcending borders, races, religions and nationalities. Let’s help each other, extend comfort and acceptance, and make each other feel safe to show our scars and share our stories. This makes healing possible.
