As part of the project ‘Traces of Absence,’ Tareq Daoud and Élisabeth Deny explored the history of Abkhaz villages located in Turkish Anatolia. In the 19th century, during the Caucasian War, thousands of Abkhazians were forced to relocate to the Ottoman Empire. The refugees hurriedly left their homeland, leaving behind everything that connected them to the culture and history of Abkhazia. Nevertheless, for over 150 years of living in Turkey the Abkhaz community managed to preserve its identity.
In their project, Tareq and Élisabeth asked how such a small community managed to resist assimilation and how it maintained its connection to its culture far from its native land. Using photography, video and installation, the artists told the story of the resilience of a community that, despite being detached from its culture, was able to recreate it. By describing practices of forced assimilation, they presented memory as a tool of political resistance that helps to cope with loss.