This publication was produced on the occasion of the exhibition "Driftwood, or how we surfaced through currents", curated by Evelyn Simons, June 17 - July 22, 2017 in Athens, Greece.

In an old Athenian mini market, Lara Ögel draws on notions of the home, familiarity and constructing a safe haven in turbulent times. Such as is often the case in Ögel’s site-specific approach, her installation originates from physical elements found in her surroundings, bearing memories of an environment once inhabited. In this case a set of closet doors generously decorated with Italian Baroque motives, as well as the feet of tables and cabinets, hint at her upbringings in Izmir with her grandparents. The journey of the doors accompanying the artist subsequently to Istanbul and now to Athens evokes thoughts on the construction of a home, both physical and imagined. To what extent can migrating bodies - taking into account both forced diaspora’s and nomadic lifestyles - sustain their idea of a home and their sense of belonging in foreign contexts? In what way can we rely on our memories when trying to convey a life once lived elsewhere?

Following the fragments of her childhood, the artist embeds these questions in a site of healing and comfort by drawing further on the physical residues such as the closet doors and found pictures, collected from home.
Patches of grass and organic matter dispersed throughout the space form a common ground for diverse elements to coexist. Ceramic paws move in pairs along this excavation site where personal and collective remembrances, and memories yet to be made intertwine. The fact that they stand as disconnected body parts expresses a certain sense of disruption, hinting at the challenges that migration bring about. Challenges regarding the balance between processes of integration and assimilation, while ceasing to forget one’s origins. houses were rooms, i had forgotten (variation II) is therefore also inhabited by gemstones and archetypal furniture remnants, suggesting recognition and rootedness.

Lara Ögel tarafından bağışlanmıştır.

Koyun Koyuna sergisiyle bağlantılıdır = Related to Rounded by Sleep exhibition