Role Visual Design, Illustration
Date 2023
Myriander af tabte minder (Myriads of Lost Memories) is a piece by Aya Yoshida, a Japanese composer, for the Soprano and String Quartet. I created the visual presentation for the project with Ly Tran’s mother singing a lullaby when Ly was a baby, which is part of Ly’s lost memories.
This project narrates the story of Ly Tran, a Danish soprano who lost her childhood memories before her family fled from Vietnam on a seven-day refugee boat trip on the sea. Danish is Ly’s primary language; even though she speaks Vietnamese, she has no memories from before she could talk in Danish. She lost her memory of her first six years.
For this project, Ly has written a text based on the stories gathered from her family and recorded her mother singing the Vietnamese lullabies her mother used to sing for her. Nor does she remember this. Composer Aya quotes those elements as part of the music.
The world premiere of Myriader af tabte minder (Myriads of Lost Memories) occurred on August 15th at Rudersdal Sommerkoncerter Denmark.
When I heard the story, I could read it as an ancient conversation. It is also a constant and present dialogue between Ly and the surroundings, the paths and the people. The memories might not be in Ly’s head but in her body; she might not remember, but others might do. Sceneries, lights, sounds, smells, movements, and actions are recognised as myriads of lost memories.
