45 so bu
In 2020, the «45» project was presented at Weber Gallery in London, coinciding with the publication of the book «45» by MACK. The exhibition brought together the slide projector installation «førtifem», a framed constellation of selected book pages, a tricolor photograph from Ukraine, and a framed c-print showing family members on a Ukrainian railway station. It took place during the height of the Covid restrictions, with an atmosphere of its own.
Following the London presentation, Lifebooks & Art Gallery in South Korea expressed strong interest in the book and its subject matter. The book became the bridge that carried the project beyond Europe, reaching audiences for whom the history of forced displacement and divided families carried a particular resonance. In 2021, part of the exhibition traveled to Seoul and Busan, where it was presented at two successive venues by the same gallery.
In South Korea, the project received particular attention, and the texts in the book were translated into Korean. The narrative touches on questions that extend beyond any single national history. Thousands of Korean families experienced a similar fate during the same period, deportations that often ended in death, carried out against the backdrop of a divided homeland.
