Is It Safe

Digital photographic dollhouse scale narratives using ww2 era photographs of my family members who were murdered during or survived the Holocaust.

We are distanced from the Holocaust of World War II by some 70 years, far enough to give us perspective and close enough to have a continuing effect on the remaining survivors and their children. As a second and third generation child and grandchild of survivors I have a unique opportunity to address these effects. While my family has been fraught with dysfunction, including anxiety, broken relationships and addiction, I have been inspired by their bravery, strength and tenacity.

“Is It Safe”, an ongoing project, addresses my experience; that of a child and grandchild of survivors who first fled from Poland to France due to Anti-Semitism and subsequently fled France for the United States. Portraying the history of the family through found photographs and miniature narratives; “Is It Safe” addresses the lives of the survivors and documents my experience as the daughter/granddaughter of survivors through the use of visual narrative.

Using photographs of family who survived or were murdered during the Holocaust I portray political and sociological issues confronting my family and the world. These photographs are the backdrop to my life and my work.

My work practice consists of narratives made on sets with 1/12 (dollhouse) scale dolls and miniatures on constructed sets. These stories are a re-enactment of autobiographic events and socio-political themes echoing the tales I was told of war and escape as a child on my grandfather’s knee. The narratives describe our family life and the effect of the Holocaust on our relationships.