The article has been published in: Glinda, No. 1, 2007 page 8

Katarzyna Pollok talks about Fatima’s Hand

About Romani roots
It has become a tradition to light candles and hold speeches at Raul Vallebergs torg in Stockholm. Synagogues and churches around Sweden and Europe are full for memorial services and in different places Romani are gathering to mark Holocaust Memorial Day, as are the Romani in Stockholm. The Romani artist Katarzyna Pollok spoke at Norra Real.

The Romani Culture Centre (Romskt Kulturcentrum) in Stockholm again gathered the Romani to a memorial service at Filadelfiakyrkan in Tyresö to honour the victims of the holocaust. At the centre itself an exhibition of Romani artist, Katarzyna Pollok’s art opened on 26 January, art that in different ways reflects the annihilation of the Romani, with collages that include Nazi documents and photographs of dead children. She also spoke at a workshop at Norra Real the following day, in which she explained how her art is a search for her Romani roots.
Katarzyna Pollok’s father was Romani, but it took a while for her to find out.
“I never learnt the Romani language and my father didn’t want to talk about his Romani origins because of what happened to him during the war. Now I know why my father never talked about it. He was six when war broke out in 1939 and it must have been a very traumatic period for him. When I asked him about what happened he always changed the subject,” says Katarzyna Pollok.
Katarzyna Pollok is proud of being a Romani woman, despite her origins being in pieces, but she has started to retake her cultural roots through her art. Her paintings are full of detail and they all mean something; some paintings were so difficult that she almost didn’t have the energy for them, she wanted to destroy them, she says. As an example she shows a picture with a little Sinti girl from Holland in the middle. This is Settela. The girl was gassed to death with her nine siblings.
Katarzyna Pollok’s paintings are full of symbols, many of which, like Fatima’s Hand for example, can be found in different paintings.
“Fatima’s hand is an Arab influence that brings luck and protects against bad energies. The Jews give it about the same meaning and it is also recognized in India, but it has slightly different qualities there. It is important for me that the symbols I use are universal, that everyone can recognize them regardless of culture or religion,” says Katarzyna Pollok. When Indians see pictures of Black Sara they ask if it’s Kali.
Katarzyna’s fate is not unusual. Discrimination against the Romani continued after the war and many of those who survived the holocaust were too traumatized to dare to identify themselves, and justifiably so. They were still unwelcome as Europeans, they were still the lowest of the low.
Gergor Kwiek from RKC also talked during the workshop. He talked about when he had said that he was a Romani at school, and then the social had kept him for three days.
“After that I didn’t say it any more. I lied and said I was Turkish and started to hate non-Romani because they hated us. That’s what hate can do,” said Gregor.

Exhibition in Väsby konsthall
The Romani artist, Katarzyna Pollok’s much publicised exhibition is also on vire at Väsby Konsthall, 17 March – 5 April, Katarzyna Pollok has exhibited in Germany, England, Hungary, India, France and Australia