In the spring of 2018, Jana’s great-aunt Lucia made the conscious decision to stop taking her medications and passed away several days later. For reasons that initially seemed random, Jana’s grandmother tore apart every photograph in Lucia’s family archive and was about to throw them away until Jana stopped her. Ever since that moment, Romanova went on and on for years with attempts to repair what was left of those images. This work is ongoing research on the societal pressure to define one’s identity and worth through fitting into family expectations centered around work, level of income, successful marriages, and certain types of behaviors, exploring the emotional toll of feeling inadequate in a culture that prioritizes productivity and obedience above all.

Currently, the project has three forms:

(Re)constructed images 

Since 2018, Jana has been trying to repair and fix the torn photographs of her great-aunt Lucia. Images represent these multiple attempts, their outcomes and failures.

Performance 

In the performance, Jana reenacts the process of repairing the destroyed family archive, using various techniques and objects. As she works, she narrates the story centered on her aunt Lucia’s relentless attempts to find her place in the world, often through questionable jobs that invariably failed.  Duration: 45 minutes.

Role-playing experience

In the role-playing experience, you are invited to collectively narrate a story of a family based on the pieces of torn-apart family photographs. You’ll create characters as family members, explore the secrets and dramatic events behind the photographs by playing out short scenes, and eventually discover the reason why and by whom the archive was destroyed. Duration: 3 hours. Number of participants: from 5 to 15.

Performance and role-play documentation images: Marica Kolcheva, Victoria Chaushyan
First tryout performance at The Balcony in The Hague