Bone Collector/ Case Closed

Stories told to me, experienced by me or collected from newspapers in Sweden and Scandinavia serve as the basis for an investigation into my own and my family’s history; a history that extends into a political sphere of female experience of subjugation and imprisonment. Objects collected or found inspire my work in experimental documentary, photography and sculpture here at UIC that convey the emotional core of these stories. My research involves genealogy, interviews, dipping into prison archives and going after any lead that can bring light on the realities of one relative in particular; my Great Grandmother. Eight years ago an old relative told me a dark secret; that my Great Grandmother had, in 1924, killed her baby girl. Not knowing if it was true I have since done everything I can to find information about my Great Grandmother’s crime. During my research I have found that not only is it true- I have found evidence of frightening coincidences; I grew up in the village where she drowned the baby, and that I am born on the same day as the baby. I have been trying to find out where the baby was buried, but there are no records of what happened after the autopsy. The working title for the project is Case Closed. The photograph was created in my studio where I was collecting chicken bones to make my own baby skeleton to illustrate my longing to find her, and for my research to come to a completion.