Peter Pflügler and the Power of Feelings in Leading Towards Hidden Truths of His Family’s Past

Family traumas are often concealed out of love and the desire to protect the young. Yet, they eventually come to the surface. Through Peter Pflügler's photographs, a fragile, lingering tension gradually unveils the long-held secret of his father.

When I was two years old, my father went into the woods with the intention of never coming back.

For over 20 years, my parents chose silence about his suicidal attempt. And still, I found myself drawn to the place where the incident happened and on its anniversary a wave of grief washed over me. When my parents finally decided to tell me, it all started to make sense.

This project started out as an investigation into the traces of a well-kept family secret. While I was revisiting my parents’ trauma – its places, objects and memories that I could not call my own – I found it here, inside myself. My body always knew.

This is no longer a story about a suicide attempt. This is about the impossibility of secrets, about what we are sharing when we hide. This is about pain inflicted out of love, about the complexity of silence, and the unexplainable sadness of a boy.

Mum, Dad, this is your trauma, that you kept wrapped up in countless colourful blankets and yet unknowingly handed over to me in a loving embrace.

I will carry it with care.

Words and pictures by Peter Pflügler 

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Peter Pflügler is a visual storyteller living in the Netherlands and Austria. His work centres around the dynamics of secrets, intergenerational trauma and silence. He studied photography at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague and he is currently crowdfunding his photobook about this project. Follow him on Instagram and PhMuseum.

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This feature is part of Story of the Week, a selection of relevant projects from our community handpicked by the PhMuseum curators.