RIBBONS
RIBBONS is an ongoing artwork composed of wreath ribbons laid at commemorative services and memorials around the world in remembrance of war, dictatorship, oppression, and violence against humanity.
During my time as artist-in-residence at memorial sites Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrück, and Belower Wald in Germany, I began collecting commemorative ribbons remembering the Second World War and everything that echoed from it. After this residency, I continued gathering ribbons from memorial sites around the world.
Today, in international public spaces such as the Humboldt Forum in Berlin, I sew these ribbons together in a live art-performance accessible to everyone. With white thread, I connect these ribbons, with all their different languages, colors, shapes, and perspectives, into one unifying, evolving colorful artwork for peace and human connection.
Each ribbon represents a gesture of remembrance, offered by individuals, communities, or institutions. Each ribbon tells a different story, and together they form a transnational narrative of shared memory.
RIBBONS invites viewers to reflect on our shared history and on the forms, rituals, and politics of commemoration. The artwork creates a space where different memories coexist in respect for each other’s perspectives and experiences. It shifts the focus from singular events to a shared, ongoing process of remembering.
RIBBONS is an open, ongoing artwork that is never finished, constantly growing with new ribbons. By adding ribbons that remember our past and leaving space for ribbons from today’s conflicts, it reminds us that remembrance is never complete and draws our attention to the reality of the conflicts and wars humanity continues to start today.
By recontextualizing these materials through the continuous act of sewing publicly and inviting participation, I encourage reflection on togetherness, showing that it is through connection and unity that peace is possible.
I am sewing while Volodymyr Zelensky is speaking with the German Chancellor in Berlin, just two kilometers from me, about new arms deliveries to Ukraine.
I sew while Donald Trump comes to power and starts a war.
I sew while the Alternative for Germany becomes the second-largest party in Germany.
I sew while the Middle East burns.
In a time when so much divides us, I sew to show what unites us.
With sincere gratitude to all the memorial services, foundations, and institutions that have contributed their ribbons and supported this artproject.
- Belower Wald Memorial
Gedenkstätte Todesmarsch im Belower Wald - Sachsenhausen Memorial and Museum
Gedenkstätte und Museum Sachsenhausen - Bergen‑Belsen Memorial
Gedenkstätte Bergen‑Belsen - National Monument Kamp Vught
Nationaal Monument Kamp Vught - Berlin Wall Memorial
Gedenkstätte Berliner Mauer - Westerbork Memorial
Herinneringscentrum Kamp Westerbork - The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe – Berlin
Denkmal für die ermordeten Juden Europas - The Memorial to the Homosexuals Persecuted under National Socialism – Berlin
Denkmal für die unter dem Nationalsozialismus verfolgten Homosexuellen - The Memorial to the Sinti and Roma of Europe Murdered under National Socialism – Berlin
Denkmal für die Sinti und Roma Europas, ermordet unter dem Nationalsozialismus - The Memorial and Information Point for the Victims of the Nazi ‘Euthanasia’ Murders – Berlin Gedenk‑ und Informationspunkt für die Opfer der NS‑“Euthanasie”‑Morde
- The Netherlands Auschwitz Committee
Nederlands Auschwitz Comité - The February Strike Memorial – Amsterdam
Februaristaking Amsterdam - Netherlands War Graves Foundation / National War Cemetery – Loenen
Nederlandse Oorlogsgravenstichting Loenen - The National Committee for 4 & 5 May – The Netherlands
Nationaal Comité 4 en 5 mei – Nederland - National Committee 15 August 1945 – Commemorating the End of World War II in the Dutch East Indies
Nationaal Comité 15 augustus 1945 – Herdenking het einde van de Tweede Wereldoorlog in Nederlands‑Indië - Canadian Cemetery