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'When a Moment Becomes a Memory’ – online exhibition

‘When a Moment Becomes a Memory’ by Sarah Saaroni and Hung Lin is a community exhibition featuring artworks inspired by lived experience of the Holocaust and personal memories of a vanished world. Captured within the raw details of Saaroni’s sculptures is the significance of survival under extraordinary circumstances, and how it has informed the life and expression of the artist.

Sarah Saaroni OAM is a Holocaust survivor who fell in love with art when she was a refugee in post-war Europe and taught herself to sculpt at 55 years old. Now 97, Saaroni spent much of her adolescence in hiding and escaping Nazi soldiers. Many of her art pieces are inspired by her own childhood experiences.

The exhibition also features supporting illustrations by Hung Lin, who, like Saaroni, came to Australia as a migrant. Inspired by Saaroni’s firsthand account of her life’s events and extensive research into her past, Lin’s highly emotive compositions explore themes of adversity, hope, and the strength of the human spirit.

Inspired by the Dr Seuss quote 'Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory', this exhibition honours the strength and resilience of women and intergenerational migrant experiences.

Many of the artworks in this exhibition are for sale. You can buy an artwork at the Boroondara Arts shop website.

Image credit: Sarah Saaroni, ‘The Orchestra’, 1984, fired, unglazed terracotta, dimensions variable, Town Hall Gallery Collection, image courtesy of the artist.
Clay sculpture of a man wearing a work uniform including a white shirt, dark grey vest, pants, boots and cap. A large case is suspended on his back with cords attached to the case strapped across his chest and his arms bent back to support the weight.
Sarah Saaroni, ‘The Porter’, c.1980s, fired terracotta, 29 x 20 x 20cm.
Clay sculpture of a man wearing a long dark grey coat, with dark grey boots and cap. Work uniform including a white shirt, dark grey vest, pants, boots and cap. A long stick is balanced horizontally on his back with two pieces of twine connected to clay buckets tied at both ends. The man’s hands are loosely griped on both pieces of twine, just above the dangling buckets.
Sarah Saaroni, ‘Water Carrier’, c.1980s, fired terracotta, 34 x 20 x 12cm.
Clay sculpture of a woman painted entirely in dark brown glaze. She is wearing a long dress and standing behind a bench. On the bench is a basket filled with flowers and the rest of the bench is also covered with flowers. The woman’s mouth is open as if she id pleading, and both hands stretched out in front, holding more flowers.
Sarah Saaroni, ‘The Flower Seller’, c.1980s, fired terracotta, 29 x 20 x 15cm.
Unpainted, clay sculpture of a man standing and playing a violin. He is wearing a long coat, big, unlaced boots and a cap. His mouth is slightly open, and his head is titled down, supporting the violin as he plays.
Sarah Saaroni, ‘Street Musician’, c.1982, fired, unglazed terracotta, 44 x 19 x 19cm.
Black and white sketch of a man sitting down, his hands folded in his lap. Has a large beard and is wearing a cap that covers most of his face. The background is also partially drawn, revealing part of the brick wall the man is leaning up against.
Hung Lin, ‘The Man in the Ghetto’, 2023, ink on paper, 30 x 21cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Digital illustration of a girl and women bent over in a field tending to some long grass. A cart pulled by two horses is behind them. The horses are bent over, eating grass and the cart is filled with a huge stack of cut grass. The sketch is mostly black and white but details including the woman’s skirt, the girl’s vest, their hats, the sky and the bridles of the horses are coloured in a dark yellow brown.
Hung Lin, ‘Out in the Field (1941)’, 2023, digital illustration, 21 x 30cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Digital illustration of a girl sitting on a bench, turned away from view so that only her back is revealed to the viewer. She has shoulder length, black hair and is wearing a large coat, skirt and shoes. There is a second bench in the background and trees behind both benches. The figure isn’t coloured in, but the background is fill in with a dark yellow brown.
Hung Lin, ‘Near Dark (1942)’, 2023, digital illustration, 21 x 15cm, image courtesy of the artist.
Digital illustration of a man holding an apple out to a young teenage girl. The Girl’s hair is black, shoulder length and messy and she’s wearing an oversized coat, skirt and her feet are ankle deep in snow. The man is wearing a shirt, oversized coat, pants, hat and is holding a toolbox. The sketch is mostly black and white but details including the coats, pants, hat, apple and toolbox are coloured in a dark yellow brown.
Hung Lin, ‘The Railwayman’, 2023, digital illustration, 21 x 15cm, image courtesy of the artist.

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