What is it about?
This is an account of three generations of artists in one refugee family who escaped the Holocaust during the Second World War (Viennese-born, Helga Michie (1921-2018); her English born painter daughter, Ruth Rix (born 1942) and her granddaughter, multi-media artist, Rebecca Swift (born 1963). Through a multimedia installation and text-based work entitled 'Staircase', dating from 2000, in which all three women participated, the family's history of exile, trauma, a lost homeland, memory and identity are movingly conveyed - art becomes a powerful vessel of transmission
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Why is it important?
The text gives a unique insight into how the experiences of one generation in exile profoundly impact across successive generations - and the importance of art as a vessel of this transmission. Not only does it tell the narrative of three generations but it suggests how artworks provide the prism for this enquiry - at a time when the topic of refugees and migration (and their stories) are more important than ever.
Perspectives
It was a great privilege to engage with members of the second and third generation of Holocaust survivors, to deeply connect and understand the importance of their joint artwork as a contribution to survivors' testimonies - and to realise how significant creativity can be in preserving stories / passing on to future generations.
Rachel Dickson
Ben Uri Gallery and Museum
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: ‘Sniffer Dogs Retracing Invisible Tracks’: Reflections on Art in Exile across Three Generations (Helga Michie, Ruth Rix, and Rebecca Swift), August 2024, De Gruyter,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004704626_012.
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