Being on the way

For now is the last piece and it shows found objects hanging next to each other on coat hangers: an adult sized tan raincoat and a little red child sized coat. The former belonged to Papa René, the latter was worn by Dana when she was young. One can almost see them walking hand in hand - as soon as someone passes away the memories belong only to the surviving relatives, they can no longer be shared with the deceased.   Thus they become more fragile, and at the same time more cherished. It is remarkable how this minimalistic installation is able to stir up emotions. The pieces are a quiet, yet felicitous memento and a display of affection from the daughter to the father. The fact that both coats hang on hangers (two more found objects) isn’t without meaning either: it points towards a stroll, made or yet to be made. One could also pursue the point that the whole arrangement of pieces is in fact a summary of that stroll which continues now and forever, albeit not in the physical world. It is the core of the relationship: father and daughter are on the way together - just like people are always on the way, internally and externally whereby the one is often used as a metaphor for the other. And the memory continues to play a part in the solitary continuation of the stroll. This is how little things become profound and how profound things can be articulated in little term                      

                                Philip Peters, 2021.