The photo exhibition “The Back of Things” invites visitors to reflect on the following questions: What is a house? What is home? How do we look back on our past? And how do the voices of previous generations echo through the objects and landscapes around us?

The exhibition portrays a four-generation Czech family house located in the Eagle Mountains of the Czech Republic. Although the house has long been up for sale, the family does not truly wish to let it go—they still use it for holidays and family visits.

The silence of the uninhabited house reveals the voices of those who came before. The interior is a mix of generations: broken kitchen utensils, ski equipment from 20 years ago, children’s plates once used by the deceased, landscape paintings by the grandfather created in his attic studio, and socialist-era dolls placed beside colorless IKEA cabinets.

The work is composed of photographs accompanied by texts—prose poems and poetry. These texts will be performed in both English and Japanese by the artist, Marcelle Verberne, at the following times and locations:

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1. Poetry and Literary Reading “PeXeSo (The Back of Things)”
Readings of the author’s poetry and literary fragments.
Title: The Back of Things (Thoughts after visiting a deserted four-generation Czech family house)

Japanese Reading
・Tuesday, April 22, 14:00–14:30
・Wednesday, April 23, 14:00–14:30

English Reading
・Tuesday, April 22, 16:00–16:30
・Wednesday, April 23, 16:00–16:30

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2. Short Story Reading “Black Water”
Reading of the author’s short story:
Title: Black Water
(A haunting story of prejudice and exclusion in the Dutch fishing village of Volendam in the 1920s, based on true crime research by the author)

Japanese Reading
•Thursday, April 24, 14:00–14:30
•Friday, April 25, 14:00–14:30

English Reading
•Thursday, April 24, 16:00–16:30
•Friday, April 25, 16:00–16:30