Way Back Home 

Jana Brike painted ‘Way Back Home’ using oil on canvas. This dreamlike image depicts a young girl asleep beneath a statue, and it invites us to consider the role of classical imagery in contemporary culture. Statues like these are found in many cemeteries in Europe, and in this context, the graffiti that covers it can be understood as the defacement of cultural memory. What does it mean to mark the signs of contemporary life on the art of the past? Brike’s use of classical and romantic symbols contrasts sharply with the vandalism she depicts, suggesting that these symbols may be losing their traditional meanings. The sleeping girl, a common image in Western art history, also speaks to the idea of innocence. By examining Brike’s cultural and institutional setting, we may better understand her artistic commentary and the public role of her art.