Laura Horelli’s latest video work A Letter to Mother (2013) is exhibited alongside with Haukka-Pala (A BIt to Bite) (2009) at Berlinische Galerie in Berlin.
In her latest work, A Letter to Mother, Horelli sets off on the trail of her mother, who died at a young age. As a child Horelli’s mother lived in Queens, New York, as her father was a diplomat and the family often moved home. In an imaginary letter the artist wonders what the city must have signified to her mother.
Horelli’s mother also plays a central role in Haukka-Pala. We see her in her mid-thirties presenting a children’s programme on healthy eating. Horelli makes use of old VHS footage from the Finnish broadcaster YLE TV2, adding a second level to the soundtrack by commenting the material. We hear memories of her mother’s illness and of family habits, extracts from the diary her mother kept as a young woman, and a letter to the artist’s grandmother.