Yara Vlasblom

When my mother passed away I felt necessity to express my grief after the passing of my mother and an urge to make grief, which is something that is pushed into the ‘private’, be something accessible and public. 
I found understanding in movies, poems and books, which have greatly motivated me to try out many different mediums to understand my feelings and try to find connection with my mother after her death. These have all found their place in my installation.
You are led through the space, choreographed to encounter videos and pictures from my childhood, poems, animations, paper sculptures, gifts, a carpet and a dress. 
In my research I have found great comfort in the Taoist tradition of making and burning paper sculptures. As a way to gift things that someone you love might need in the afterlife. 
Flowing through the installation I investigate what role imagination can play in grief. Finding comfort in seeing lost loved ones in the wind, or in a bird, I let storytelling have power. Allowing this narrative imagination to be true, I oppose the private and practical grieving that Dutch society has come accustomed to. 
The work is personal out of protest. Coming from the discomfort this school institution has made me feel. I had to endure sayings like how parts of the work are ‘too sentimental’ or needlessly emphasizing the work was not enough but only passed assessments due to the exceptions of ‘my situation’, which felt belittling and inconsiderate. The title ‘I don’t like being here, will you be here with me?’ is the expression of this struggle and a call for the support of my mother.
 By bringing grief into a public space, I invite you to join in my imagination and memories and find value and comfort in this shared space of grieving and remembering.