As a little boy in the 1950’s David Kristoffersen was moved from his family in Greenland to Denmark. When he returned to Greenland years later, he no longer knew his mother and could not speak Greenlandic.
In the book Displaced, the now 75-year-old David tells his story to visual artist Tina Enghoff, who reconstructs the boy David’s journey by searching for places, archives and relics that played a role in his memory of the time he lost his roots.
Displaced examines the archive’s role in relation to personal history. Tina Enghoff’s research takes us through David’s memories of his stay as a child in Denmark in the beginning of the fifties, oral history, Greenlandic way of communicating and the written statements about him and Nanortalik (his place of birth) in the Danish archives. Displaced is dealing with postcolonial identity and tales of losing ones roots, belonging and language – but also of regaining ownership.
Specifications: Vandkunsten / Dogwalk Books ・ 2021 ・ Hardcover ・ 21,6 x 29,4 cm. / 144 pages ・ Greenlandic / Danish / English ・ 978-87-7695-655-4
