Wendy Morris - Off by heart and out of breath. A Silva Rerum.

This book is printed on 500 copies of which 10 form a unique edition, signed and numbered by the artist. It was published on the occasion of the exhibition Off by Heart and out of Breath - A Silva Rerum, which took place at argos from 24 April to 26 June 2016.

In the summer of 2014, Wendy Morris walked from the north of France to Vlissingen in the south-western Netherlands, looking for traces of her ancestors, who in the seventeenth century took this route to escape religious persecution. Eventually, they were to find a new home in South-Africa.

In the exhibition, Morris took the visitor along on her quest for these (mostly absent) traces of her ancestors, while also raising questions about themes that are still very relevant in our times, such as migration, persecution and identity. Both the book and the exhibition departed from the idea to create a Silva Rerum for the elder generation, as well as for future generations : a book these future generations will pass on and to which each generation will add its contribution. The book as an exhibition, the exhibition as a book.

The first part of the title Off by Heart and Out of Breath refers to Morris’ walks, during which she recited the names of her ancestors aloud until she knew them by heart. From her own diary records, she compiled fourteen letters, which she sent by post to some twenty addresses in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and South-Africa.

author: Wendy Morris
publisher: argos editions (Brussels), MER. Paper Kunsthalle (Gent)
year: 2016
book: 21,5 x 28 cm, 144 pages, English
ISBN: 9789492321343
price: €21