Idea

What family memories remain? What does one know about one’s parents and ancestors? And are there things one does not know about one’s parents? Where are these stories recorded, and when can they be brought to light?

Numerous projects exhibit different perspectives from the same and different family members.

In the center are the conflicts of one family that formed between Europe and old Indochina over the last 100 years. The mother, Le Thi Hai was the temple psychic, who died young. The father, Harry, a German Social Democrat, had to flee at a young age after an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the German Kaiser. He served the next twenty years in the French Foreign Legion. The daughter, Lina, moved to Paris after the death of her father, at the age of 18. Since 2006, she has been living in Prenzlauer Berg in Berlin. After more than 60 years, Lina returned to her birthplace, Hanoi, in 2015 with her daughter, Malu, who, like Harry, was also born in the Rhineland in Germany. Malu’s daughter Nadi joined them in Hanoi. Nadi had been raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and was now studying in Berlin.

Lina’s brother is French. He left North Vietnam in 1954, with the last group of French engineers to escape. He was now visiting his wife’s family in Hanoi.

Nadi attempted to contact her ancestors through a psychic in Seancen, which Lina found a bit questionable. The three women were all drawn to this in some way, but had varying feelings of confidence.

Hoping to come to some closure regarding the Foreign Legion, the spoke with generals who had become soldiers at the hands of the French, and learned the discipline and tactics necessary to drive the French, Americans, and most recently, the Chinese, from their country.

What fears did they have to face? What ideas and expectations are promoted in Vietnam and suppressed in Europe?

What were the personal struggles they faced? What sense of peace could be found? What did the conflict bring?