Etchings by Hannah Machover: residency at Holocaust Centre North
‘as far as possible’ (2025)
Friday 16 January 2026 – Tuesday 27 January 2026
16 January 6-9pm (opening)
17th, 18th, 24th 11-5pm and 25th January, 11-2pm (otherwise, by appointment)
‘Carefully arranged on a display table, the intimate scale of Hannah Machover’s etchings invites viewers to lean in. Distilled into potent lines are experiences of internment and isolation from loved ones, drawn from letters written by Jewish refugees in Britain who were reclassified as ‘enemy aliens’ following the country’s entry into the war in 1939.
Her delicate, complex compositions evoke a sense of confinement and hint at vast, interior landscapes of solitude. At once surreal and allegorical, Machover’s compositions centre quiet gestures of care and support: a parcel thoughtfully wrapped, a shirt mended by a loved one’s hand.
Each of the twelve etchings draws from a rich constellation of references gathered during Machover’s residency at the Holocaust Centre North, as part of the third cohort of the Memorial Gestures programme. These include letters from the Carry Gorney and Heinz Skyte collections in the Holocaust Centre North Archive, as well as echoes of lines and imagery found in literature, art history, and the stories passed down in Machover’s own family, who fled antisemitism in central Europe.’ Paula Kolar
With thanks to Carry Gorney and the Skyte family whose collections inspired this work. Courtesy of Holocaust Centre North Archive. Table fabricated by Louie Isaaman-Jones, designed by Joseph Bradley Hill. Title booklets designed with Joseph Bradley Hill.
