Water dissolves memories. It transforms real events into fiction. As time progresses, our memories fade away like the water flowing behind us.
“Where We Are Not” is an ongoing project that examines the impact of migration on the experiences of various generations. The work is rooted in Kristina Mos’s family’s archive that documents her family’s journey through different phases of emigration. The narrative begins with the account of her grandfather who left Ukraine for Canada in the 1990s, progresses with the story of her mother who relocated to Italy in 2008, and culminates with the artist’s personal experience of escaping war after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
By employing alternative printing techniques, Mos reinterprets archival images and explores the ways in which history is remembered and conveyed. The project poses a crucial question: can these narratives unite different generations, far-off locations, varied eras, and, ultimately, humanity? In what ways does this experience shape the development of individual and collective memory? How do we recall? How do we safeguard stories, when they are being transmitted from one generation to the next?
The project “Where We Are Not” encourages us to view Kristina Mos’s photo archive not merely as a fixed collection of facts, but as a vibrant space where the personal connects with the collective, and where memory merges with artistic expression.
