Project Statement My Sweet Elora. By Luuk van Raamsdonk In the late autumn of 1970, my grandfather disappeared without a trace. No one knew why he left, or where to. After three months he returned, without an explanation for his absence. 53 years later, history repeats itself. In early 2023 my father had an affair, revealing the long hidden fractures hiding within our family history. “Where did it all go wrong?’’ I asked myself. In need of answers, I dove into the family archives. Within them, I found a lead that revealed my grandfather’s secrets. Elora, Canada – a small, quiet village 115 kilometres outside of the city of Toronto. There, my grandfather had an affair with an unknown young lady while my grandmother who was pregnant with my father at the time ,awaited his return. This is where it all began. Seeing my reflection in the mistakes of both my father and grandfather, I decided not to let history repeat itself again. Which led me to travel to Elora multiple times in the span of a year. Leading me to confront both myself, and my heritage. My Sweet Elora is a collection of photographs and moving images, combining found footage from my family archive with fragments from the film ‘’Dr.Zhivago’’(David Lean 1967). I confront and dissect the complicated nature of family dynamics. While also using my personal journey as an exploration of identity and self-perception within the context of a family’s history. This study serves as an exploration of the behavioural patterns within family structures and the trauma that can come with it. Thus shedding light on the complications of traditional masculinity A conversation between what is and what was. There resides a real strength and transformation in facing these issues of trauma. We as a society have the collective responsibility to do better than what we have been taught. I deeply believe that on the other-side of this introspective confrontation lies a better sense of identity, masculinity and the social constructs that surround us.