Art about Refugee Experiences
Things to think about if you are looking fro a concept around the theme of refugees
Things to think about regarding Textiles as medium:
- Whose story is being told? Whose story is it to tell?
- What cultural artefacts do refugees bring with them? (esp textile artefacts) Could these be used in your work?
- What is the role of history and memory
- If you're looking for a very current concept about refugee, think about the fact that refugees have no citizenship - this means there is no government taking responsibility for their welfare during COVID! In places like Jordan where refugees are integrated into the community COVID statistics are good, but there have been serious economic impacts on the refugee community because there is government help for unemployed people and most refugees have lost their jobs. In Western countries like Greece COVID cases are being locked in shipping containers by the army. Having moved detention centres offshore, the Australian government feels no compulsion to put COVID measures in place for asylum seekers. In fact, it has used COVID to reduce the numbers of refugees accepted into the country!
Things to think about regarding Textiles as medium:
- "Additionally, textiles themselves are transformative – they can be changed into another item just by altering the way they are sewn and put together" Ceyda Oskay
- Layering of fabrics nad techniques - how do they reflect layering of memories and experiences?
Alice Kettle's Thread bearing witness uses embroidery like paint to depict the broader cultural experience of the refugee crisis.
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The project was begin when Alice Kettle's daughter was involved with social justice at a local refugee centre.
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Sayd Shahmahmood depicts migration experiences through traditional tapestry techniques. His tapestries are then used in community spaces, such as the back of this chair.
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Khadim Ali is a Hazari refugee whose work depicts demons (because the Taliban depicted Hazari as demons who lived in mountain caves) as heros using various textile techniques.
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Dinh Q. Lê creates photographic and video installations which examine the role of memory and history Vietnamese refugee experience.
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Safdyr Ahmed created this graphic novel about the conditions for refugees incarcerated in the notorious Villawood detention centre.
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https://www.jinettedegooijer.com/
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/mona-hatoum-2365/who-is-mona-hatoum
https://www.biennaleofsydney.art/artists/ai-weiwei/
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/sep/01/its-about-finding-a-place-stunning-portraits-of-women-affected-by-the-refugee-crisis
https://www.contemporaryand.com/magazines/main-exhibition-review-interesting-to-the-eye/
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/sep/01/its-about-finding-a-place-stunning-portraits-of-women-affected-by-the-refugee-crisis
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/jun/03/giles-duley-photographs-of-refugees-journeys-in-pictures
Don't forget that textiles are a great medium for printmaking.
Here is Ceyda Oskay's Bird from Peru in Istanbul (cyanotype on fabric) Look more closely at the image to see the subtle cityscape. |
25 Million Stitches (one refugee, one stitch) is an international collaboration which resulted in a major art installation intended to goive the views the experience of the sheer ovewrwhelming numbers of refugees around the world.
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Between the Lines is a Yr 12 artwork which attempts to bring human faces to the refugee crisis. As well as the painted suitcase, human faces form the design of the dress fabric..
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Hmong refugees (from Cambodia) in the US keep their migration memories alive through the traditional art of story-cloth.
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Mohau Modisakeng (Soweto)
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/tiffany-chung-finding-vietnams-forgotten-stories-began-personal-quest-180971816/
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/tiffany-chung-reconstructing-an-exodus-history-boat-escape-routes-to-the-region-and-beyond
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0967828X.2019.1651991?journalCode=rsou20
https://www.artsy.net/artwork/tiffany-chung-reconstructing-an-exodus-history-boat-escape-routes-to-the-region-and-beyond
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0967828X.2019.1651991?journalCode=rsou20
https://www.refugeecouncil.org.au/yearofwelcome-monthly-actions/