Miray van der Bend

Frontpage(s)

In the east of the Netherlands, right in front of my childhood home, a

Turkish choir sings. A cultural contrast between two worlds. Here arises the

longing for a lost homeland, a sentiment shared by many Turkish-Dutch

individuals. You can settle elsewhere, but it never has the unquestioned

certainty of where you come from. With relocation, a certain unbroken naivety

about identity and place is lost. For generations, a deep homesickness for

the past and the homeland has remained.

Thus, the one who settles in another country remains, in a sense, always on

the journey, between here and there, between then and now. You are never

fully there; it is there, and yet not quite.

A longing for the idea of the past remains.

This work emerges from my personal quest for my Turkish identity. I grew up

in the east of the Netherlands with a Turkish mother and a Dutch father. My

Turkish mother often plays a central role in my work, and this journey began

with her. With this work, I want to fully return to the core, to the origin

of my identity. The Turkish choir, placed in front of my childhood home,

symbolizes the connection between my Dutch upbringing and my Turkish

heritage. It is a representation of the quest for who I am, a celebration of

my roots, and an acknowledgment of the complexity of my background.

With this work, I try to represent the hope that memories can be kept alive

and lost pieces of our identity can be rediscovered. This work is a monument

to my childhood, my family, and the shared longing of many for a place that

no longer physically exists, but will always live on in our hearts.