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Story behind the artwork

The seeds of this work were planted long ago, though I didn’t realize it at the time. Growing up in Slovakia, the history of the Holocaust was always present in the background. My homeland was a place where, under the government of that era, Jewish citizens were deported to extermination camps. As a child, I heard the stories in school and even attended talks by survivors, but there was a distance to it—a gap between the historical fact and the human reality.

That gap closed forever when I moved to the United Kingdom.

My first job here was as a kitchen assistant. Standing beside me at the prep station was a man about the age of my father, a colleague from Hungary who would soon become a friend. He told me the story of his own father—a man who had managed the near-impossible: escaping from Auschwitz. He was later recaptured and sent to another camp, but survived just long enough to see the liberation at the end of the war.

As I listened to him, a profound realization hit me: if his father hadn't escaped that camp, if he had become another statistic of the tragedy, the man standing next to me in that kitchen would never have existed. I would never have known his humor, his wisdom, or his friendship. It was no longer "history"; it was a living thread of existence that almost didn't happen.

I still find it impossible to absorb the depth of hatred required to attempt the erasure of an entire population based on their faith or origin. This sculpture is my attempt to process that weight and honor both those who were lost and those who remained.

The Dual Perspective: I designed this piece to have two distinct meanings, depending on how you stand before it:

• From one side: You see figures standing behind a barrier of barbed wire. This view is dedicated to the millions who perished—those whose lives were cut short behind the fences of camps like Auschwitz and beyond.

• From the opposite side: You see the figures again, but this time the barbed wire passes through them. This symbolizes the survivors. It represents the fact that for those who lived, the experience never truly left them. The trauma and the memory are woven into their very fiber; it is a part of them forever.

I completed this work in December, timed specifically for January—the month the world pauses to remember the victims of the Holocaust.

Placement & Realization: This sculpture has not yet found its permanent home. I am currently seeking the right location for it to be installed—a place where it can serve its purpose as a site of reflection, education, and remembrance. Whether for a memorial garden, a museum, or a public square, I am open to discussing how this piece can be properly placed to honor the history it represents.

The stories behind my artwork, the opportunities in The Lighthouse, and the reflections of the Morning Muse are my ways of keeping the lamp lit for our creative community. These resources will always be free to access. If they have found you at the right time, consider fueling the forge to help keep the fire burning. Your support, in any amount, is deeply appreciated.

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