Mum and I
Löwenstein, Karin and Löwenstein, Heike (2019) Mum and I. [Book art/Artist's book, Curation, Digital art, Exhibition/show, Photography]
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The research project is a collaboration with Löwenstein's mother Karin Löwenstein. It is situated in the strand of her research that focuses on the meaning of place in relation to identity and belonging. Through an earlier project 'Heimat', this strand has channelled into a closer interest in the psychology of family relationships, and this is the first project directly engaging with this context.
The format for the project is simple yet powerful. Mother and daughter each make an image each day, and the image pairs are initially uploaded to a blog each day. At a later stage, sections of the images are curated by third persons into a website, book, exhibition, installation etc. Currently, Pulitzer prize winner and editor Judy Walgren has edited/curated a section, and further collaborations are in progress.
The development of the production of the images for the project itself is experiential, in that mother and daughter have an ongoing, daily dialogue by email and Skype around the images, their content, and each other's lives. The simple exchange and publication of image pairs from mother and daughter have opened up communication that doesn't require any explanation or reconciliation of the past.
Karin Löwenstein who is in her eighties and lives with her husband in Cologne, Germany, has suffered from anxiety and depression since a life-changing event in 2011. Access to mental health provision is difficult for the elderly, in Germany as well as the UK. The project has enabled recuperation and has given Karin's life a new lease and purpose.
The scope for developing a project using 'Mum and I' like a template for use with the older population in the UK and Germany is currently under consideration.
The blog where the image pairs have been published thus far is at https://mumandiweb.wordpress.com/
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