Diaspora
Object numberM2010/075
TitleDiaspora
DescriptionToni Walsh artwork "Diaspora", produced in 2008 as part of her HSC at Gosford High School. It consists of 11 separate items made out of found materials and mixed media, including three watercolour paintings.
“I went to the Sydney Jewish Museum in year 11 for a school excursion. Being there, hearing the stories of Survivors (particularly of an old gentleman named Eddie Jaku), and walking through the Children's Memorial in particular, I felt so twisted with all these emotions. I had to deal with them in some way. I ended up using my artwork mostly as a way of dealing with it. My work is a tribute to the 1.5 million children lost during the Holocaust. It is a reconciliatory gesture – an attempt to reunite the lost fragments of their fractured identity. My work is largely symbolic. My purpose was not blame or anger; rather, through my work I hoped to memorialize, raise awareness and caution; to try and find a little peace with this tragic past that we all, as global citizens, share.”
“I went to the Sydney Jewish Museum in year 11 for a school excursion. Being there, hearing the stories of Survivors (particularly of an old gentleman named Eddie Jaku), and walking through the Children's Memorial in particular, I felt so twisted with all these emotions. I had to deal with them in some way. I ended up using my artwork mostly as a way of dealing with it. My work is a tribute to the 1.5 million children lost during the Holocaust. It is a reconciliatory gesture – an attempt to reunite the lost fragments of their fractured identity. My work is largely symbolic. My purpose was not blame or anger; rather, through my work I hoped to memorialize, raise awareness and caution; to try and find a little peace with this tragic past that we all, as global citizens, share.”
Production date 2008
Subjectchild victims, memorials
Object namesculptures
Materialwood, paper, fibres (fabrics), watercolour
Credit lineSydney Jewish Museum Collection, Donated by Ms Toni Walsh