“My present is more than I remember” is a research project into inter-generational connections and the webs of relationships that shape our lives. It examines the existential role of collective and familial memory in the shaping of Jewish and German-Jewish identity. Through my work, I aim to explore the links between photography, memory, and writing. Diving into the correlations of past, present, and future and digging through archives; I become the nostalgic chronicler of my family history. Growing towards a better understanding of the circumstances in which my family has existed and the memories I have inherited. Memories fed but left undigested throughout generations become a part of me as much as I become a part of them.
My present is more than I remember. It incorporates all the experiences and stories of my parents and grandparents. Though I might not know their exact and joys and pains, I do know of these things. Their memories quietly weave themselves into the textiles, photographs, and words that I write.
My past, that is all the stories and the events of my ancestors that I do not know of. It’s the stories that happened far before my time came about, but it’s also the stories that have been chosen to be forgotten about.
My present, that is my light, and it doesn’t start with my morning and will not end with my night.