EXIL
Michel Séméniako knows firsthand what exile is. His parents fled from communist Russia in 1921, his wife from General Franco’s Spain in 1950. He knows from close up what refugees feel: anxiety mixed with hope for a better life. A refugee cuts all links with his past. It makes him a shadow – often hounded. Séménaiko (b. 1944), specialising in night photography, visualises this ‘dehumanising’ in night shots that, with the assistance of a group of artist friends are made with the use of a infrared camera. Exil (2002) comprises three parts: ‘The escape’ (green), ‘The wandering’ (blue) and ‘Tomorrow, all is going to change’ (red).
