Kurshan

Kurshan was a shtetl (village - Yiddish) in Lithuania where my paternal grandfather came from. 

In 1905 there was a huge fire in Kurshan and all the Jewish homes were burned down.  My grand father left Kurshan and went to the neighbouring village of Popelan where he met my grand-mother and married her.  They had one daughter there before coming out to South Africa in 1912.

During World War 1, the entire village was destroyed.

The piece I have made is a collage made from various photos and photocopies.  

The image of the street (the main? - only one) was from a photo from a friend whose grandparents come from the same shtetl.  I photocopied it onto a transparency.  The railway tracks were close to my home in South Africa.  I walked home from school crossing those tracks many times.  Often I saw black people being harassed and arrested for not having their pass books or attempting to board the train without a ticket etc.  It holds many painful memories.  Shortly before leaving South Africa, I went back to those tracks and took many photos which I use a lot in my work.  I have photocopied one of my photos, and used gel medium to add it to this piece.

The suitcase in the foreground was bought in Johannesburg and 'manipulated' by me.  It is in the vestibule of my home and I have also photographed it in many ways and use it in my work.  For this piece I have photocopied it from a photo.

The black on either side of the tracks is painted with bitumen, a roof sealant which is a lovely thick, black gooey substance.  I have used oil sticks, charcoal, pastels and a variety of pencils and Contes to blend all the collaged bits into a meaningful whole.

The red thread that I use in work of this nature symbolizes the life force, continuity, intergenerational.

This piece was almost finished before our last play date at Heather's where she demonstrated a variety of image transfer techniques.  I would have rather used Citrasolv for many of the transfers in this piece.  Transparencies are very sensitive to water, mediums and liquids of any kind.  I also think it would have looked more coherent with the newer techniques learned on that day.

Looking forward to seeing the others!

Pamela