“When does history become a memory? How does that memory record a truth? What do you do with that truth?”

My family immigrated to Canada from Ukraine in 1986 in search of search work and land. More than a decade later with their homeland at war with Britain, and British Empire, including Canada, thousands of immigrants like my family were declared “enemy aliens”. 8,579 men, women and children were detained in 24 camps across the country.

The fate of my family is an ongoing investigation. I am intrigued by how we memorialize historical events. Do we occlude the experiences of marginalized or subaltern groups.

My work addresses the absence of awareness of internment, something that has gone on for more than 100 years, on all continents, and, in almost all countries.

This is my truth drawn from their collective stories. This is their story. It is my story. It is our story.

The project was developed as a collaboration with art historian Taous R. Dahmani (Panthéon-Sorbonne/Oxford), Library Archives Canada, the Canadian War Museum, the Canadian History Museum, their employees, and other organizations and individuals.