. multiple clays . unglazed . painterly textures surfaces & colors .
journey maps 1940
by Gaia Starr
I am currently developing a "ceramic novel" based upon
the German invasion of Belgium and Holland on May 10th 1940
and the direct impact it had on my mother and her family's exodus to freedom.
The following ceramic sculptures are illustrations from my novel.
Their 5 month journey begins at dawn on May 10, 1940...
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10 year old Simon Jacques in his own words...
Map of exit from Belgium through France May 1940
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Incendiary bomb in neighbors
garden, 10 May 1940
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...and his sister, 12 year old Thérèse..
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...in her words...
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.."your doll or your gas mask..."
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Siblings
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through their eyes "Siblings"
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Leaving Bruxelles 1940
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Belgium May 1940
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Map for Bruxelles exodus 13 May 1940
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witnesses
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through their eyes "witnesses"
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Heading South May 1940
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Masquerade
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through their eyes " masquerade"
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facing the unknown
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Portuguese Consulate Bordeaux Visa 18 May 1940 Exterior
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Portuguese Consulate Bordeaux Visa 18 May 1940 Interior
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Hopeful refugees waiting at the Portuguese...
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...Consulate in Bordeaux France...
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...for their life saving exit Visas.
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Bordeaux Synagogue June 1940
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Bayonne by the river June 1940
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Bayonne passport office 22 June 1940
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temporary Bayonne Passports
22 June 1940
Identity limbo
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Identity limbo alternate side
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...as their journey continues ...Biarritz to Pau...
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..Barcelona to Badajoz..
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Map to Biarritz June 1940
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On route to Pau
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( FAKE replacement) Passports Toulouse 13 July 1940
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Weary
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Map of train through Spain & Portugal July-August 1940
Passports now valid with Spainish visa stamps to travel through Spain and tickets to Badajoz
19 July 1940
...traveling through Spain to Portugal July 1940
Trains in Spain July 1940.
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back view trains in Spain July 1940
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Badajoz to Lisbon 23 July 1940
Street view Lisbon August 1940
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Lisbon Synagogue August 1940
Lisbon August 1940
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...Thérèse explains how they came to New York..
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Passport with stamp for Hakone Maru
21 September 1940
...On the Hakone Maru 21 Sept-12 Oct 1940...
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..safe arrival in their NEW home.
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Simon Jacques, Thérèse and Sophia Frankfort arriving in Baltimore, Maryland USA
Journey Box
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