“We are a people who, in despair, know how to dance and sing.
Ceija Stojka
How can we remain insensitive in the face of such resilience and beauty? Through this exhibition dedicated to Roma artist Ceija Stojka (1933-2013, AT), Galerie Christophe Gaillard Brussels invites you on a journey to the heart of the little-known history of the Roma genocide, seen through the eyes of an artist whose every work is an act of survival.
“This story begins in a whirlwind of color, light and laughter. With the taste of rain on your lips, the wind in your hair and wild grasses in gypsy farandoles. But then comes the night of the camps, the night of barbed wire and the power of a tiny racist man. After Auschwitz, after the fear, the sun reappears to say yes to life. Take a deep breath, stretch out your fists to the sky and stay united, because we're stronger when we sing together. Playing with lists of words, to ward off misfortune and open up to happiness. The granddaughter has become a great-great-grandmother, but for the Roma, the journey is never over “.
Murielle Szac, editor of “Le tournesol est la fleur du Rom”, Nov. 2020.
