The Taste of Memory

The Taste of Memory is an exploration of personal and collective family narratives woven through still life compositions, intertwining threads of home, heritage, and identity. My images are a photographic journey through the tastes and textures of traditions, inspired by Dutch still life paintings–and the family kitchen table.



Going home means travelling the long distance back to a small village in northern Germany and my family’s old farmhouse, a house that seems untouched by modern time, and, one day soon, will be left behind. When I visit now, I walk through the uninhabited farmhouse and open doors that I have never opened before. Time seems to stand still¬–and the mystery of the past emerges when I hold everyday objects in my hand, left behind by previous generations.



Old recipes from my village in Northern Germany serve as a starting point for my still life compositions. Recipes were passed down from mother to daughter, from one generation to the next. As memory shifts in the act of recollection, recipes evolve over time, mirroring the dynamic nature of cultural identity. Some of the images include embroidery fragments, reminiscent of old decorative dish towels from the village. These patterns, once created as symbolism for funerals, now speak of loss and the gradual disappearance of cultural rites.



The Taste of Memory serves as a portal to the heart of home, a goodbye to a memory lost, and an invitation to create a new recipe, a new memory, and a new story.