Lesson 17 (Hikmet)
Since 2014, I have been working on a series of video installations and outdoor video projects with my children called Lessons. This series records my efforts to teach my children empathy and morals through important texts that have profoundly shaped my worldview. I want to remind myself and teach my children that not everyone has the advantages that we do and that others have to struggle in ways that we can’t fully understand, simply because of the color of their skin, the person they love, the country they are from, systems that fight against them, and the heavy weight of history, just to name a few. They deserve our understanding and allyship. I want my children to recognize when our systems are unfair and fight to end them.
As my children have become adults or are nearing adulthood, and the fact that they don’t really need many more lessons from their father, I have been drawn to a poem by Nazim Hikmet titled “Last Letter to My Son.” Hikmet was a Turkish Communist exiled from his homeland for his political beliefs. He wrote this poem to his son, knowing he would probably never see him again.
The writing in the notebooks is by my children and me. I want to remind us all to enjoy and care for the wonders of the world, but most importantly, to “feel for people above all.”