Sehnsucht

Friends of mine, a couple from Syria and Romania, asked me to do some collages for them with oriental themes. They have not been able to go back to Syria for the last seventeen years. They live happily in Luebeck, but still the suffer from Sehnsucht.

Sehnsucht translates as longing, but the roots are sehe (see or understand) and Sucht (addiction). As you can imagine, it is word with many layers. The collages are supposed to include the idea of Sehnsucht, a longing to see again or understand what has come to past, or even is long gone.

I asked them to describe what colours come to mind when they think of home,

What textures they feel on their skin in the heat of the day,

What social setting they remember most fondly,

And then, I asked Munu to describe a dream.

These are just my initial attempts. I imagine there will have to be a lot more before any of them are “just right”. I'm going over for a chat and tea tomorrow. Wonder what they will think.