What remains

Family snapshots, souvenirs, old tickets. Every­one seems to own these im­mediate subs­ti­tutes for va­ca­tions, cele­bra­tions or pri­vate events to keep these memories for the future. But what happens to the special moments, when we don't have a camera, there is no souvenir shop near by or if it is just a per­sonal feeling? What do we do with these per­sonal mo­ments that we would like to prevent from for­get­ting?

Found objects, self-­made things and drawings tell silent sto­ries of the past in this project. Left in a layer of obs­cu­rity the objects pro­vide only quiet hints of what was and what is still pre­­sent. The photographed items were witness to the event or were created later.

They are the memories of three women, the grand­mother/mother, the aunt/daughter and the grand­daugh­ter/niece, sum­marized in one place and referencing each other.

Lena Oehmsen is the last one in this sequence of remembering. She doesn't only document the me­mories of the previous generations, but com­bines these with her own using photo­graphy, video and found objects.

The images com­bi­ning the three points of view of the family mem­bers allow the viewer to find his/her own memories in them.

What remains, c-prints, 50 × 50 cm, 2010