X Border Art Biennial 2013 Rovaniemi / Gallery Valo Arktikum / vitrual tour
Channel: erika kassnel-henneberg
Date: 2023-05-30

This is a very personal summary of my participation on the x-border-art biennial - the world’s northernmost international art biennial. It took place between June 19 – October 6, 2013 in three countries: Luleå/ Sweden - Rovaniemi/ Finland  -  Severomorsk/ Russia.

My contribution to this event: The-lost-home-Project.
The lost home project consists of two pieces of artwork - a book and a collection of letters. The piece "Heimat is somewhere else" focuses on an obsessive search for a place of identification and belonging. I describe it as a long car ride without arrival because every apparent arrival makes you painfully aware, that “heimat” isn’t where you searched for it. The piece "Letters from Utopia", as an instrument of connection, represents a metaphorical bridge between here and now and an idealized location in mind. My belief is that the desire for Utopia is in man’s nature. On the other hand it is contrary to nature to ever accomplish this intention. This deeply human experience is a painful and at the same time a motivating feeling. In this area of conflict I am interested in man’s subjective sensations and the capability to forget, to remember and to associate.