Tick Marks
October 2020
New works by Tamar Segev including a large scale painting and artist book of prints.
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Artwork Information
Prints:
Łagiewnicka 8, Łódź, Poland
Monotype with relief
13′′ x 11′′
2019
Painting:
Limanowskiego 48, Bałuty, Łódź, Poland
June 2, 2019
Charcoal, graphite, pastel, and oil on canvas
68′′x 54′′
2020
Excerpt from artist's journal
"Standing in the courtyard in 2019, I looked at the building—two metal doors, one open, stood beneath a large brick archway. My father walked inside. I hesitated; we were tourists entering a private space, in a neighborhood stricken by generations of poverty. At the same time, this might be the only opportunity I would have to climb the stairs to their third-floor apartment. So, I followed. I walked down the hallway. An electrical cabinet was covered in white paint and on top it was written vertically “L [Star of David] S”. To my left, the top half of the wall was painted yellow, and it was clear the wall had been intentionally scratched. These carvings appeared as tick marks and irregular grids. The bottom half of the wall had so many layers of chipped paint, wallpaper, and plaster that it was difficult for my eye to rest on one area. A pattern of brown and beige emerged, with spots of deep yellow ochre and lavender.
There was something overpowering about the density of material accumulation. Through indiscernible layers, paint and plaster cover, then peel, then bandage. I have come to interpret this wall and the building surfaces of Łódź, as accumulated material remnants of past inhabitants. These walls were witness to and manifestations of the ghetto. The built environments of Łódź are a type of memory device for me—embodying my family’s experiences within the broader memory of the ghetto. In courtyards, cement and weeds conjure memories of growing potatoes. As I recreate the tick marks and grids that I’ve observed, I imagine the gesture of the physical body that created this original mark."