Visual artist
working in public and
private spaces with
letter performance,
embroidery
and textile
Naarn im Machlande -
Memorial for Sternenkinder
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Naarn im Machlande -
Memorial for Sternenkinder
The starting point for the project was the human dimension surrounding the wish to create a memorial for “Sternenkinder” — a memorial for babies who died before, during, or shortly after birth — in Naarn. As someone told to me during a shared walk: “What is beautiful about Naarn are the encounters.”
A group of people — young and old; directly affected or not — came together as a working group. They were united by the desire to create a place for these children: a place where they could be spoken about openly and remembered collectively.
The memorial is landscaped with grass, dotted with flowers, bushes, and strawberries to pick. It is conceived as a welcoming and comforting place where also children enjoy — or would enjoy — spending time.
The heart of the memorial is a mosaic created collectively. Children, adults, neighbors, friends and many others were invited to draw a bird on paper — birds flying, gliding, playing, pausing. The mosaic was created based on this collection of drawings. During ten days, we worked together on the mosaic, - stone after stone - with everyone invited to participate.
A group of people — young and old; directly affected or not — came together as a working group. They were united by the desire to create a place for these children: a place where they could be spoken about openly and remembered collectively.
The memorial is landscaped with grass, dotted with flowers, bushes, and strawberries to pick. It is conceived as a welcoming and comforting place where also children enjoy — or would enjoy — spending time.
The heart of the memorial is a mosaic created collectively. Children, adults, neighbors, friends and many others were invited to draw a bird on paper — birds flying, gliding, playing, pausing. The mosaic was created based on this collection of drawings. During ten days, we worked together on the mosaic, - stone after stone - with everyone invited to participate.
Cemetery, Naarn im Machlande, Austria
Commissioned by the Kunstreferat Diozese Linz
2024
Mosaic: Venetian glass stones. Garten: Lawn, flowers, Amelanchier, butterfly bush, strawberries, Campsis, sunflowers, hydrangeas, lavender, ornamental allium, tulips, daisies, and mullein. Place for candles and objects. Bench, adult’s chairs, children’s chairs. Memorial book.
Mosaic realization: Cosmomusivo Mosaik
Photography: Norbert Artner