Drifting homes

Minute Bread

*Recommended listenting place: Spot #28 from this map of Frankfurt’s main Cemetery or in front of a tree in any cemetery.

Deep memory of the grandparent’s house, the recurring leak in the ceiling, the repairing of the leak, the transformation of the house through time, and as the economic means allowed. The old window in the new house, grandma’s baking of the minute bread. A juxtaposition of tree and house, both with roots, losing leaves, and growing new ones as an act of resilience and of putting memories into place. (were they ever out of place?)

A Drop Hollows Out a Stone

*Recommended listenting place: Spot #53 from this map of Frankfurt’s main Cemetery or near a small fountain, pond, well or watering hole in any cemtetery.

“There is the memory as stone and the memory as water” says Bergie as he walks us through the memories of his parent’s beach house in Croatia, which they bought upon returning to their homeland from political exile. Upon this apartment rests the memory of building a cupboard with the loved one and the dreams of a future together. He then walks us through the steep geography of his suburb of Cape Town, where he grew up, and its only flat road, where initiated a lifetime bond with his best friend and his (other) South African father. This passage reaffirms belonging through solid memories, objects, and bonds, and yet, there is an anticipation of oblivion, a fear of memories dripping off, of losing touch with people and places.

Sailing Threads

These tracks were originally heard before and after the audience’s live encounter with Bergie

*Recommended listenting place for Thread #1,2 and 3: Walking in the Adolph-vov-Holzhausen park in Frankfurt am Main or walking along any park or garden.

Thread #1: Longing for silence

Bergie spends most of his day outdoors in the city recycling plastic bottles. He walks us through the different soundscapes that he experiences throughout the day and evokes the mind games he uses to make himself feel in another latitude closer to home.

Thread #2: Lemmings

Bergie narrates his encounters with other homeless people as he reflects critically on what he calls Germany’s greatest disease: fear, and reveals his particular perception of what it is to feel like a superhero.

Thread #3: Company Gardens

With a thorough description of the vegetation, this Cape Town native approximates a small park in Frankfurt am Main to Company Gardens in Cape Town.

The Railroad Track that Turns Back the Time

*Recommended listening inside the train or tram as it moves.

This passage is experienced as a braid of weaved voices of (post)migrants reflecting on traveling, urban environments, writing, editing, and reading.