Drawn in Memory

L.’s story is a deeply personal reflection on separation, memory, and motherhood across two countries. Through symbolic images, she traces love, loss, and continuity between Eritrea and Greece.

STORIES FROM GREECE

6/13/20261 min read

L.’s story is entirely personal, shaped by memory, distance, and the emotional weight of separation. At the top of her painting, the name of her country appears in its original script, surrounded by traditional colours that anchor her identity in her place of origin.

At the centre of the composition lies her family, drawn only in pencil and without colour. This intentional absence of colour reflects the pain and sadness of being separated from her mother and siblings, making visible the emotional distance that continues to define this part of her life.

Around this central image, L. draws herself in Greece together with her baby. The scene is marked by sunlight and presence, yet the figures remain similarly uncoloured, suggesting that even in a place of safety and new beginnings, the feeling of separation remains present. An infinity symbol connects this moment, expressing the ongoing and unbroken nature of this emotional bond — a sense of continuity that exists beyond physical distance.

Other elements complete her story. A boat recalls the journey that brought her to Greece, carrying both risk and hope. Plants and flowers from her home country evoke memory, rootedness, and the natural world she carries with her. The flag of her country reaffirms identity and belonging, while an eye with makeup reflects her past profession as a makeup artist in Eritrea, where she worked for weddings and traditional celebrations.

Together, these elements form a layered narrative of a life lived between places. L.’s painting does not separate past and present, or absence and presence. Instead, it holds them together in a single emotional space, where love for her family remains constant despite distance, and where identity continues to exist across borders.

Her story is one of quiet endurance — of a woman who carries her past with her, while building a life in a new place, still connected, still remembering, and still becoming.

HERS

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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hers@odyssea.com