“47 Years” Art Reception | Palo Alto

Submitted by the Event Organizer

Victoria Heilweil’s photographic art practice transforms images of the mundane into the sublime. The ordinary is invisible; we see it and pass it by. She makes visible that which we take for granted. Inspired by Wabi Sabi, a philosophy and aesthetic that comes from Japanese Buddhism, she utilizes marks as temporal narratives. Vestiges are intimate and revealing, unique and historical. Victoria’s images capture the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete; of things modest and humble.

For her series 47 Years, she photographed her mother’s apartment before it was emptied and sold. The title indicates the length of time Victoria’s mother lived in that space. Her apartment (which is also where Victoria grew up) is located in Riverdale, a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in the Bronx in New York City. Within a ten block radius from the house there are 3 temples (reform, conservative and orthodox) and several Kosher restaurants and Jewish delis. The neighborhood has become more religious over the years, and is popular with families with young children due to the excellent schools in the area. The marks Victoria has photographed are an indictment of her parent’s relationship, and of her mother’s anxiety and loss. It is an uncomfortable and melancholy view of mortality, fear of the unknown, and what we leave behind. They images are of a place, but more so, are portraits.

Presented by The Oshman Family JCC

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