PORTRAITS OF HOME

Every winter I record a short portrait referencing an aspect of Home. Since I only add one variation to this series each winter, I am interested in how the idea of Home changes as time passes.

These portraits are usually projected videos in a gallery space, each in its own frame, running on a loop. The 'moving paintings' are each telling a very simple story, and they are metaphorical representations of the need to feel at home, longing and solitude.  

I imagined my self as a snail, pulling my own home. This small gesture -pulling the parachute in the wind- creates a physical tension, literally felt by the body, and the tension of keeping one's home 'alive' with a lot of effort. Home in this image is not just the physical building, the shelter, but one's relationships and marriage too, which is also a delicate balance to make it work.     

This video consists of juxtaposing two narratives. We see a calf inside a house trying to reach a bucket of water. I was interested in this constant effort, trying over and over again to satisfy this elemental need, drinking, a gesture of self preservation. On the other hand, we see a ghost-like figure, 'painting' the door frame. This figure is me. I am no longer there to make a difference, I can not help the thirsty calf, nor able to 'fix' the house because I left this place, it is no longer the place I belong in.     

I trained a horse to lift its leg on commend suggesting and anxious, impatient gesture, wanting to change location, signaling its' owner to move. The female figure is rooted in the landscape, 'frozen' unable to make the effort to carry on. The horse is committed to stand by although there is a visible tension in this image.        

The warmth of the barn, juxtaposed with the cold winter landscape. This moving image embraces the strength and vulnerability of the body, in a position that can give up in any moment. The constant movement up and down creates a rhythm, counting minutes, hours, moths and seasons.      

The first piece in this series is an adaptation of an ancient Hungarian legend, "A Csodaszarvas Legenda" which describes the story of a deer that guided the nomadic Hungarian nation to the final destination, the place where they should permanently settle down. The video piece that started this series, portrays  my own journey as an immigrant, searching for the place I can call Home.