Ismyrna

Joana Hadjithomas and the artist and poet Etel Adnan met fifteen years ago They quickly became close sharing a city that they had never been to Smyrna in Turkey Joanas paternal Greek family were forced into exile from Smyrna by the Turkish armies after the end of the Ottoman Empire Etels Greek mother was also born in Smyrna and was married to a Syrian officer of the Ottoman Army and exiled in Lebanon after the fall of the empire Etel and Joana have both lived in an imaginary Smyrna today called Izmir without ever setting foot there Nowadays they are confronted with the transmission of history and trauma questioning their attachment to objects places imaginary constructions and mythologies without images What is to be done with the sorrow of our parents Their personal experiences their stories serve as a background to the regions changes after the fall of the Ottoman Empire the evolution of the borders questioning the notion of identity and belonging