Daily Play and Bread

2024

mixed media, wood, textiles, bread

Daily Play and Bread is driven by personal and collective power — how moments that may seem small can turn out to be significant. Through research based on interviews, archival materials, and personal memories, the work explores the connections between mundanity and hope, highlighting what is often left out of mainstream historical narratives.

The basis of the research is the story of my great-aunt Leili’s youth. Deported to Siberia, she carved her name and family details into birch bark while working in a forest. Unexpectedly, the log ended up in a sawmill where Leili’s father worked. He happened to see it after a long time of separation, which gave him hope that one of his daughters might still be alive.

If bread represents both a basic necessity and a tool of power, then play can serve as an act of resistance. This dual symbolism is reflected in the visual language of the exhibition. Textile sculptures, interactive works, and playful pieces examine the relationships between memory and society, searching for manifestations of hope in a world that can often feel suffocating and restrictive. The exhibition explores the tensions between everyday rituals and the sense of belonging, looking into how seemingly small and trivial actions can become important and create cracks in carefully constructed power structures.

photos by Sarah van Wingerden and Ako Allik