“for the country I had to explore no longer existed and I had to reconstitute the topography of its high and holy places through the thick fog of the past.”

Andrei Makin, ‘Le Testament Français’

'During WW2 my father, a REME and IEME soldier in the 14th (forgotten) Army, traveled by troop ship to India and onto Assam, Burma & Sikkim.'

'In 2007 I retraced part of his journey traveling alone on trains and shared jeeps from Kolkata to Siligori, through the Himalayas to Darjeeling and on to Kalimpong and Gangtok in Sikkim. Referencing my father's diary and photographs I searched for the locations he visited, looking for vestigial remains. I drew, took photographs & collected objects & ephemera. This material forms the basis of the wall piece and bookwork Traces, trails and remnants.'  Christine McCauley