Aileen Bassis "Balkan Palimpsest" A palimpsest is a manuscript that has been erased and rewritten. This group of work was inspired by a recent trip through eastern Europe. A few months after I returned, I was invited to create work using maps for an exhibition at Seton Hall University. I made a group of prints (all 10" x 8") and a group of book pieces combining maps of the Balkan area with images of statues -- both heroic and religious -- and the ubiquitous wild dogs that roam all over the former Communist countries. The dogs were a both a metaphorical and literal symbol of the state of these countries. I included names: names of the Danube in the many languages of the region, names of the many cultures, empires and regimes that have come and gone. This work is all from 2013. |