Anderswo / Elsewhere

Petra Barth grew up in a rural village. She, her parents and her sisters lived on a small piece of land where nature was untamed. She climbed trees, floated on tires in big puddles of rainwater, picked wild blueberries in a nearby forest, and wandered along the giant furrows of a massive potato field across the street. As evenings approached, she feared for the moment she had to go to bed. Recurring nightmares haunted her during the day and kept awake at night. I kept hoping that if I didn’t fall asleep, I could escape my dreams. Maybe that’s why I am captivated by illusions .

Her mother would hang the clothes for Petra and her sisters to wear the next morning on the closet door. She didn’t know that they would throw ominous shadows that intensified by the light of the moon shining through the window scared Petra. Maybe that’s why I am fascinated by shadow and light .

At the sunrise, inspired by tales from faraway countries that her parents told them at bedtime, Petra and her sisters would roam the land and look for adventure. Maybe that’s why I am drawn to the countryside, and to the unknown .

Decades have passed and nightmares were replaced by curiosity. Through the lens of her camera, Petra Barth was able to explore the places away from home and keep moments alive which otherwise would be forgotten. The images in ANDERSWO reflect Petra’s journey to unfamiliar places, both geographically and emotionally. By letting her own memories interweave with the stories she listened to others share, she created intangible threads and followed them back to the little girl in the potato field, captivated by the unpredictable.