PHANTASM by bagggra in Vienna

PHANTASM is a site-specific glass installation inspired by the poignant history of the Semmelweisklinik - a former orphanage and later a women's clinic. In a period of two months Zhenya Kaleva consulted archives, read articles and listened to stories. Against this backdrop, she created her own imagery representing the emotional experiences of children and women who found shelter at the Klinik - warmth, abandonment, anonymity, amicability. Each figure has its own role: The leaving mother - ashamed and never looking back. The anonymous woman - she is no one and everyone at once. The Institution - she doesn't care about anyone's feelings, only document and statistics. The foster family - a dual character, might provide warm feelings and care, might be interested only in the material advantage to adopt a child. The child - rough, emotionally uneducated, as a member of an orphanage, where it cannot accesses true family love and care.