GoSee loves books : Barry Falk's 'In Search of Amnesia - Jewish Narrative in Poland and Ukraine' (Kehrer Verlag) – A Journey into the Past Between Family Roots and Jewish History in Eastern Europe
In 2017, British photographer Barry Falk traveled to Krakow to research his family history. However, this was just the beginning of a much larger, five-year photographic project, which not only aimed at genealogical research but also sought to gain a deeper understanding of Jewish history in Eastern Europe. The title 'In Search of Amnesia' reflects the tension between the desire to repress painful memories of traumatic events and the need to consciously preserve those memories.
With a careful approach, Falk embarks on a quest to find places where Jews were murdered. He documents physical objects preserved in museums and speaks with historians, forensic archaeologists, and artists.
“The project grew out of my own personal family history and Jewish roots in Poland and Lithuania. On the 2nd January 2017 I flew to Krakow to begin a research project exploring the Jewish narrative in Poland and Ukraine, an area previously rich in Jewish culture. This was the start of a long-term documentary project and begins, almost predictably, in Auschwitz, but then follows a route that shifts and changes, following leads and hunches, ideas and directions, rivers and transportation lines, ‘dead ends’ and surprising synagogues.” – Barry Falk
The journey begins almost inevitably in Auschwitz, but then follows a route that constantly shifts, guided by clues and intuitions. It reveals places intertwined with Jewish history— from cities and villages to synagogues and rivers. Falk’s interest was not just in returning to specific family roots but in the collective memory of a once-thriving Jewish culture in Poland and Ukraine. In cities, villages, and settlements shaped by large Jewish communities, trade, politics, and social life flourished. The rise of Hasidism and Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment, were also part of this history, which was destroyed during World War II by the German occupation forces and their devastating measures.“Though the Holocaust looms large, casting its shadow backwards and forwards, this is not specifically about the Shoah. Within Poland and Ukraine, there is a rich historical narrative of a vibrant Jewish culture.”
The project searches for traces of these past communities, whether in the form of still-existing, often decaying or repurposed synagogues, in physical objects and relics kept in museums or sold as souvenirs, or through encounters with the “guardians of memory” — historians, conservators, archivists, forensic archaeologists, artists, and scholars.
During his journey, Falk kept a diary, written over five years, in which he attempted to process both overt and buried memories and understand the heavy legacy of the past. These journal entries became the foundation for the final book of the project.
“As I travelled through this memory-rich landscape, I kept a journal, written over the course of five years, attempting to make sense of overt and buried memories, past atrocities, and contextual history. These journal entries became the text for the final book.”
Barry Falk is a British photographer who documents psychological themes and places of collective trauma, particularly in Eastern Europe. He explores consciousness and sensibility in collaboration with research centers and has been involved in projects in Russia, Lithuania, and Finland as a member of the MAP6 Photography Collective. His work has been exhibited internationally and was featured in the Portrait of Britain in 2020.
Barry Falk 'In Search of Amnesia Jewish Narrative in Poland and Ukraine'
24x19,6 cm 216 pages, 134 images
Text: Oksana Dovgopolova, Barry Falk
Design: Kehrer Design (Laura Pecoroni)
CREDITS
Photographer © Barry Falk
PUBLISHER KEHRER Verlag
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