Jewish Refugees: at the beach; at a birthday party; in sailor hats; going fishing; with dog and cats; riding horses; wearing glasses; sailing on boats; dressing as Santa Claus; celebrating Christmas; having picnics; having parties, 2017
restored 16 mm film, HD video, letters; length 130'
Home videos shot by Blum Reddy’s father are cut and selected according to the artist’s memories of her early childhood. These films range from her youth to the time of her departure from the United States for Paris. The films show the Jewish diaspora who arrived in the United States after the second World War. Organised by topic rather than by chronology, these films double the process of remembering carried out by the people who were present at the events that were recorded and serve to link historical traumas across generations. The holocaust eliminated diversity from cities like Riga, which once flourished as a port connecting Jewish traders and Baltic Germans. Next to the video a series of letters is displayed showing correspondence between the American side of the family and those who remained in Austria, who share their experiences of living through the events of the holocaust. The film catalogues intimacy between individuals despite geographic distance. It contests the ramifications of nation-building and the formation of identity groups based on language, race, and religion.
Blum Reddy maps identity and religion at two ends of a time scale, defining both modernity and the contemporary through the prism of feminism. She pokes fun at the iterations of male modernism and painting by illustrating the train tables and bureaucratic committees of New Delhi, India, where national identity is defined by the same inefficient committees assigned to build economic infrastructure and eradicate poverty. But identity is not always national. Blum Reddy was born to parents who escaped the holocaust by emigrating from Vienna to New York. She married Krishna Reddy in France, and references to India have recurred in her artistic career ever since. But is she Indian? Blum Reddy uses feminist conceptualism to question notions of straightforward identity across various mediums, emphasising the complexities of life behind the barriers and definitions of ‘the nation’.
Artist’s website: judyblumreddy.com