TEHOM - ABYSS

Photographs and texts visually frame the narrative of the painful journey of the loss of Renée Revah’s family members, from Thessaloniki to Auschwitz. The only survivor was her grandfather, Albert Revah, who had fled to Athens. Until the end of the war he was waiting for his family, patiently preparing their return.

Renée Revah meets him at the moment of his devastation when he learns that his family has been wiped out. She promises with her work “Tehom” (a biblical Hebrew word, meaning primordial depth) to lead him to the scene of the crime, which he himself did not find the courage to visit until his death.

Two consecutive trips by Renée to the Birkenau and Auschwitz concentration camps will follow. At every step of her journey, she mentally addresses her grandfather, sends him photographs, and shares her thoughts and feelings with him. Her narrative stems from an intermediate memory, a gallery of images, shaped by the narratives of her family and the testimonies of those who returned alive. 

As a post-witness herself, Renée processes the past and transforms the inherited trauma into a purifying path that leads to forgiveness; the abyss of the lake that was the cenotaph of people murdered in concentration camps.