displaced

displaced (repeating)

“displaced” is an ongoing series of mixed media works on paper inspired primarily by the knitted lace-works of my mother and her journey to Canada as a "displaced person."

Her displacement from her ancestral homeland, Slovenia (then part of Yugoslavia), was the result of the devastating and lasting effects of World War 2. She spent four years in Displaced Persons (DP) camps in Austria before being allowed to immigrate to Canada, making her way to Alberta in 1949. While interned in DP camps she learned the craft of knitting lace tablecloths, runners, and doilies using cotton thread. She sold all of her creations, and, with the money she earned, she helped to buy milk and extra food for the children in the camp. My mother was one of over 40 million persons displaced and relocated at that time. It is the allegory and sensation of displacement that is the focus of this work.

These types of forced migrations still occur today. Some people move in search of work or economic opportunities, to join family or to study. Others move to escape conflict, persecution, terrorism, or human rights violations. Still more move in response to the adverse effects of climate change, natural disasters, or other environmental factors.

My mother continued to make her lace-works up until a few years ago. She gifted most of them to family and to people she loved. Miriam Fabijan