Refugee Project — Panel 7: Recognizing

Recognizing is the seventh panel in my ongoing Refugee Project. It is textile art about migration, memory, and the connections to place and family that endure across generations. This series explores how heritage and family stories remain present even when separated by time and distance.

The central image in this piece is the Dom Cathedral, a place that represents the heart of Riga

Located in a large town square and surrounded by restaurants, shops, and gathering places, it is a familiar meeting point where people come together and the life of the city unfolds.

Personally, the Dom also represents my mother’s operatic career, which was sadly interrupted by the Second World War, after which my family fled to safe havens. The connection to music is particularly meaningful to me. Concerts are frequently held in the cathedral. People from all walks of life gather there in the quiet of this historic space to listen to music and experience the impressive sound of the Dom organ.

https://maijazemitis.com/refugee-project-panel-4-echoing/

For me, the Dom therefore holds more than a sense of place. It connects Riga’s cultural life with my mother’s music and with a part of my family history that was disrupted by war and displacement.

For this piece, I used five sections of up-cycled fabric incorporating an eco-print design

I added molding paste to portions of the fabric and scratched into the surface, creating additional texture and variation across the composition.

The Dom Cathedral is the central image, printed in shades of grey and brown that echo the colours of the eco-printed leaves. To emphasize the cathedral, I outlined it with two rows of running stitches. The rust and yellow embroidery threads contrast with the darker tones of the image. They draw attention to the Dom as the focal point of the piece.

Before settling on the final image for the panel, I experimented with several photographs of the Dom Cathedral, exploring different views and compositions in Pixelmator Pro.

As in all the panels of the Refugee Project, I have included butterflies. Throughout the series, they carry several meanings: the souls of the departed, flight, hope, and personal growth. Three muted blue butterflies appear in this panel, adding another layer of movement and symbolism.

The five sections are joined by jagged blue machine stitching

Rather than concealing the spaces between the sections, I chose to make these divisions visible and incorporate them into the design. In places, the eco-printing extends into the gaps, while the blue stitching creates another visual connection between the individual sections. Finally, the completed piece has been attached to a background of handmade paper. Then it was mounted onto a piece of foam core, for sturdiness.

Recognizing is an artwork with a deep family connection for me. Yet I hope it will also evoke memories for others who have visited Riga and experienced the city for themselves. The Dom has deep cultural roots in a city with a profound and complex history, while Riga itself has evolved into a vibrant European city. For me, this panel brings together these layers of place, history, memory, and family connection.

https://maijazemitis.com/refugee-project-panel-4-returning/

Each panel in the Refugee Project has become another branch in my own textile family tree, carrying fragments of place, memory, heritage, and family history. In Recognizing, the Dom Cathedral becomes more than a landmark—it becomes a point of connection between Riga, my mother’s story, and my own continuing relationship with Latvia.