memento Prunus mahaleb

2023, textile installation, 2 x 800 cm

Textile banners move in the wind and tell threw  pictures and words a story of the village in Burgenland  – especially of the people who are associated with the cultivation of the stone vetch. The reddish shimmering wood of the mahaleb was used in many ways, for example for walking sticks, umbrella handles and pipes, and Walbersdorf was the center of stonecrop cultivation in Austria for a long time. This account focuses in particular on the family of Austria’s last mahaleb farmer and other protagonists.

Using the methodology of Oral History, contemporary witnesses report on a bygone era in which work, tradition and religion determined everyday life. Their stories are closely linked to the cultivation of the tree. The experiences of the Walbersdorfer:innen from minority of Rom:nja people in Burgenland are also addressed – shaped by the two world wars and the post-war period. The handwritten reports alternate with pictures, drawings and quotes in Burgenland dialect, lending the memories a special authenticity.

This work is connected to the sound installation memento Prunus mahaleb and the publication CULTIVA memento Prunus mahaleb.

Photo credits: Oscar Cueto and Manuela Picallo Gil