Imperceptible Conversations

Maria Berns

A Space Windows

November 12 – December 11, 2011

---

Three years ago, I arrived in the neighbourhood of Flores Magón in Veracruz, Mexico. As a casual experiment of urban anthropology, I started to walk. The deteriorated and abandoned houses, vacant lots, and run-down streets of the area immediately caught my attention. Open windows along the streets revealed collections of unique objects and interior environments contrasting with the uninviting exterior.

From the sidewalk I started taking photographs until one day a lady invited me to step in. From the inside these houses showed the reality of the solitary lives of the women who inhabit them: the psychological realm of their desires, dreams and fears. For more than two decades, men have been migrating to the United States leaving behind women, many of whom are mothers and wives. These women inhabit their houses as ghosts of their own lives.

Biographies

Maria Berns is a filmmaker and writer from Argentina. She completed her graduate studies in Mexico and the United States, combining sociology, film and literary creation in her fictional and documentary works. Her short films have been shown at festivals in the United States and Europe. Berns received the prestigious Kodak Award for her film The Bride. She has worked as a film professor in Rochester and Istanbul as well as a scriptwriter for Mexican television. Currently she is editing her fictional feature film So Long, shot in Veracruz.