In the late autumn of 1970, my grandfather disappeared without a trace. Leaving my grandmother behind in The Netherlands. Months passed before he returned. He never told anyone where he had been or why he left.
53 years later, history repeated itself when my father had an affair. Revealing long-hidden fractures within our family history.
Research in my family archives led me to find a lead that shone a light on my grandfather’s secrets.
Elora, Canada: a small, quiet village in the middle Ontario. There, my grandfather had an affair with an unknown young lady while my grandmother awaited his return. Seeing my reflection in the mistakes of both my father and grandfather, I decided not to let history repeat itself again.
My Sweet Elora is an ever-developing collection of still and moving images from Elora. Shaping the collective history and memory of the village while also recontextualizing that of my own family.
Through archival research and photography, I dissect the complicated nature of family dynamics and Dutch-Canadian migration, using it as an ongoing formulation of personal identity and self within the context of family history.
