Originally an installation of found objects, While You Were Away is a photographic book that examines the dynamic relationship between the familiar and the unfamiliar within cross-cultural exchanges. This work is a culmination of a month-long collaborative exercise between the Olson and an American friend who was living in the artist’s hometown in India at the time of the project. Every day for that month, Olson and her friend recorded their initial experiences of the place that they had just moved to. These impressions are inscribed on objects that are peculiar to this new place, something they had not seen in their country of origin. By conjuring up the surprise they felt while navigating what is now a familiar cultural terrain, they deconstruct and examine the process of their assimilation. In this manner, they hope to create a consciousness of similarity and difference while also showing how personal narratives act as gateways into the larger collective.
In Fall 2020, While You Were Away was presented online as part of Hampden Gallery’s Fall Exhibitions.