Channeling her own, as well as collective Swedish and American migration histories of longing, love and loss, Emigrant Memoir explores the state of being that is in-between. Linda Maria Thompson's site-responsive approach takes us to the often-romanticized American West, to the environs of my current home in Ångermanland weaving together the fates of emigrants, immigrants, migrants – past and present. Formally trained as a photojournalist, her practice is in itself in migration in this work; embracing subjectivity and a variety of materials and techniques, including antique analog photographic processes, screen-capture, digital photography of archival film, images and texts. This work, through photographs and texts, raises questions about how we see and experience migration while offering an opportunity to reflect upon our relationship to the documentary image. The exhibition traveled to Västerbottens Museum, Västernorrlands Museum and the Missoula Art Museum in 2019.
The book was a winner of the 2019 Swedish Book Art (Svensk Bokkonst 2019). Emigrant Memoir, Self-published, 2019
12 essays and 60 photographs: Linda Maria Thompson
Text editing: Margot Kahn
Design: Niklas Fagerholm & Linda Maria Thompson
Typography: Niklas Fagerholm
Limited edition of 125 signed and numbered.
Self-published , 2019.