The J. Street Project by Susan Hiller
Publisher: Compton Verney Trust
Year: 2005
Format: Hardcover
Edition: First
Condition: New in shrink wrap
The J-Street Project is the result of Susan Hiller's complex study documenting every street sign in Germany whose name contains a reference to Jews. These signs now function as inadequate memorials to the destroyed communities, marking locations dating back as far as the eleventh century where Jews had lived, sometimes completely segregated from public and municipal life. In 1938, the Nazis changed the names of all streets that referred to Jews. After World War II, many were changed back to their prewar names during the Allied program of de-Nazification, a name-restoring process that is ongoing. The resulting images are haunting, often sparse, and conjure up feelings of distinct unease. Some images are occupied with people; others are empty but equally compelling in the feeling of sadness and absence they evoke.