Artist Statement:

Abendlied (Engl. Evening Song) is a personal exploration into the topics of family, memory, and loss. Piontek moved from Germany, where she was born and raised, to Canada in 2005. Over the course of the past six years, she has taken pictures of her family whenever visiting Germany. The result captures the last years of her parents in their house —her childhood home– where they had lived for almost 40 years before having to move due to her mother’s battle with dementia.

Abendlied examines how individual relationships in a family are shaped by the processes of growing up, aging, and eventually letting go. It reveals how this circle of life not only contributes to an ebb and flow of connection but also to a feeling of separation within the family bond.

The project looks at the elements that create a family: not just the genes but also the stories and secrets, as well as the objects that we surround ourselves with. The things that have always been there, are handed down, and make up the tangible and visible material that turns houses into homes. In this series, they become poetic stand-ins for underlying emotions and the “unspeakable” that is unique to each family.