“Kárhozottak ősapáink, Kik szabadon éltek-haltak, Szolgaföldben nem nyughatnak.”

This work is a proposal for an invitation to be a part of a group show at the 60th Venice Biennale.

My practice is about addressing questions of identity through the examination of materials and objects in my environment. I’ve created the work “Kárhozottak ősapáink, Kik szabadon éltek-haltak, Szolgaföldben nem nyughatnak.” to be presented at this years “hidden structures” exhibition. Kárhozottak ősapáink, Kik szabadon éltek-haltak, Szolgaföldben nem nyughatnak.” translated to “Damned are our ancestors, Who lived and died free, Cannot rest in sullied ground.”

 Developing my entry for this year’s Venice Biennale show which has a theme of “Biennale_Stranieri Ovunque – Foreigners Everywhere”;

I have used my personal experience of feeling that I am a foreignereverywhere, even in my homelands. Coming from two cultures and being deaf and hard of hearing, I have often found myself a stranger in my own community, culture and homelands.

How I have processed this and how travelling with my suitcase full of “personal treasures” means taking home with me and implanting my home into a new culture. Merging my own cultures on a personal basis. Coming from a background of both Hungarian and British cultures I have found refuge in my suitcase during travel between homes.

 Travelling back and forth with my suitcase has made me reflect on personal family history of where we belong and the meaning and value we place on our belongings especially our treasures. My Hungarian Great Grandparents buried their treasured belongings in soil to protect them from capture during times of political turmoil. This piece represents my journey in life with the rich history of both my Hungarian and British background.

 The soil represents the journey of my roots and upbringing as well as the journey of my family while burying their belongings and the struggle of what possessions are important. The Suitcase itself represents themes of identity crisis. The English flag isrepresentational of my English side, the suitcase gifted by my English Grandmother. It explores themes of having constant reminders of where supposedly I belong. Growing up travelling between two homelands meant having a personal suitcase that was taken back and forth with items that were the most important, picked out and kept close with us while travelling.

 I would like to dig the soil in a area in Venice to present it fresh and as a concept of new burials and grief that comes with being a foreigner everywhere

 Footnote:

The name of my work “Kárhozottak ősapáink, Kik szabadon éltek-haltak, Szolgaföldben nem nyughatnak” comes from the Hungarian National Song which inspired the 1848 revolution.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemzeti_dal