In 2007 I visited the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe in Berlin. Walking through the field I found myself concentrating on the surfaces of the concrete blocks, because the presence of other visitors distracted and annoyed me.

Many of the blocks were cracked or pitted. I found a small heart-shaped flaw in one of the blocks and took a photograph of the hole using my phone. In retrospect, I wished I had something with me to take an impression of the hole.

Two years later I returned to Berlin and retraced my steps through the memorial to find the heart-shaped hole. I hadn’t recorded which of the 2711 concrete blocks it was on, but I did know which direction the surface was facing and that the block was much taller than me. It was more than an hour before I found it, and this time I took an impression. I also calculated where the block was within the field as a whole.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe was deliberately designed without symbolism, but a cast gold heart-shaped pin is now my souvenir; an object in remembrance of a place, which exists as a place of remembrance.

In 2011 Love from Berlin was awarded a Jerwood Contemporary Makers prize, having been selected by renowned artists Hans Stofer, Freddie Robins, Richard Slee.

The exhibition toured the Jerwood Space (London), Naughton’s Gallery (Belfast), Innovative Craft (Edinburgh) and The National Craft Gallery (Ireland). It featured in Crafts (July/August 2010), The Independent (29th June 2010) and Design Week (27th May 2010).

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/9454