Writing Home Print

Writing Home Vietnam Based on a picture supplied by Tom Skiens, Infantry 120 x 100 cm Paper cut on 300g acid free paper My first step in this project was to get in touch with US Vietnam Veterans and ask them to donate at least one personal, private picture of their time in Vietnam during the war. This ‘lost picture’ could be anything: a picture of a friend, a landscape, a village, a self portrait, a group photo. After some effort I received several touching reactions and was generously given enough striking pictures to start working from. I focussed on executing handmade paper cuts based on these images on large pieces of white paper. A choice of material that alludes to these young men being ‘blank pieces of paper’ when they approached this momentum in history. The cutting technique conveys various meanings and layers: the fragility it engenders forms an intentional contrast to the tenacity required from -and/or associated with- any G.I., and provides a counterbalance to the weight of their experiences and memories (emphasized by the cut-outs' dropshadows on the wall); the images are all created from one piece, to reflect the connectivity and mutual dependency of the men involved; and every little step and decision during the working process itself required caution and concentration which mirrors operating on a ‘cutting edge’. These representations of personal pictures -shot not only in such a turbulent period in recent history but also in their makers' lives- are a reminder of how personal and/or government choices, unfortunate coincidences and societal context can heavily influence one's life. * Exhibited at the Cartasia Biennial of Contemporary Paper Art in Lucca, Huysmuseum Etten-Leur, Museum of Gorcum and AG Ruimte voor nieuwe kunst en media Utrecht (NL) *