Migration Series

Velge’s recent ‘Migration’ series is the result of her topical research into immigration history.

The artist was raised near the city of Antwerp. Founded on the strength of its large port, the 19th Century saw almost 3 million Middle-Europe migrants stop in its harbour in transit prior to their journey on the Red Star Line to the 'New World'. The port’s Red Star Line Museum struck a contextual chord with Velge on a visit 5 years ago. Stories of the migrant’s struggles, the belongings they chose to bring with them and the cultures they would impart to their final destination drew Velge into deeper awareness of her own cultural surroundings; specifically, London’s Shepherds Bush area where her studio is based.

Having emigrated from Belgium, the topic of immigration is close to the artist’s heart. She is aware of the difficulty of leaving everything behind in order to seek a new life in a place you know little about.

The material used the “Migration” series is as thought through as its context. The creation of these works undergo a long process. Velge waits for fallen trees in the woods of her childhood home to disintegrate. A gentle handling of the bark is then needed to excavate the rotten wood from inside the delicate bark. These fragile carcasses are then brought to London where she gives them a new life. They are cleaned, dried and intricately woven and glued to gold-painted seeds. These seeds are representations of migration and movement, the gold paint a signifier to the preciousness of life and innate culture of the individual travellers. These gold specs often gather together on their expedition through and around the bark, over and through barriers and passages in their search for new beginnings.

These extraordinarily delicate and beautiful final pieces are an intricate product of the artist’s determination to capture migration and the flux of life itself.