Matevž Čebašek
When the Swallows Don't Come Back
“Matevž! I’m quite good. Every day I go for a walk. Today I was in Preddvor at the pharmacy, I went to get medication. On the way back I went to your mom. She served me nicely. Now I will walk to Zg. Bela. It’s very hard for me because I forget a lot. I’m very grateful to Tomaž and your mom.”
The text was written by my grandmother. After more than 20 years of taking care of my grandfather who had Alzheimer’s disease, she is currently struggling with her own dementia. When the Swallows Don't Come Back is talking about a gradual loss of a loved one, while they are still alive. Through the installation and publication, I'm showing the exploration of presence and absence in the relation to the fear and uncertainty of what might come in the future. They are part of a long-term project about relations between dementia, memory and the medium of photography, which are also overarching themes of my practice. One of the main goals of my work is to make people engage with the topics; through conversations or through thinking and reflecting on them. I try to address the general public and expand my audience beyond the art world.
Her condition changed drastically only a few months after she wrote the text.
Contact:
matevz.ceb@gmail.com
@cebasekm
