Artist in Residence at the Affordable art fair Hampstead Heath 2019.
‘We are human’ 2019
With the mass caravans that have traveled the globe in recent times from south America to the US border, to the caravans from the middle east into Europe and the people coming from northern Africa across the Mediterranean. To the vast movement of people in Asia from one country to the next all with the hope of prosperity, freedom from persecution for one of many different reasons of prejudgement and derision. In the hope of a better future, away from war or religious or social persecution, from hate and suffering in the hope of finding love and acceptance, a new life and a chance to be themselves.
These caravans are not new but something that has happened throughout human history.
They are made up of a collective of individuals from all different paths, but they are first and foremost humans, but are all different in many ways be it gender, sexuality, religion, age, race or cultural, political or social viewpoint including people of both morally good and bad standing.
The caravans are a representation of humanity, with the base fact that we are all human but with all our differences.
From the human trains going through Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, there is a global movement of people traveling from one place to another, but with a common thought coming from some people in their final destinations. This is of non acceptance and that they don’t want the train coming to their country causing ‘problems’ in one way or another and bringing something that is against their normality, be that a new aspect of culture, religion, society etc. These people forget that they are just like them on a fundamental level that of humanity, that if any of them were in their situation would they themselves not want to search out a better life, a life of acceptance and opportunity looking for prosperity and freedom for themselves and their families?
The screens each show one half of the human body, each depicted by a different person. These people are all from different backgrounds, be that race, religion, gender, sexuality, body size, political viewpoint, cultural background, class etc.
But they will come together to complete each human, made up of two individuals just as we are by our parents.
But with advancements in technology we are also able to create a human from three individuals, no longer the creation of a human from just two parents and this will be hinted at with some works being across three screens. These three screens will also be highlighting mental differences in people with the head of the human being in a separate screen to the body, pointing out that it is not just our physicality that makes us different but also our physiological aspect.
The underlying idea here is to show that in our ‘walk’ or ‘path’ in life we all start off as human and human we all are, we are all equal in the idea that we are a single species of people.
But it is with our progression through life and on our path that we change and gain distinctions, some are instant such as gender or race, some come later such as religion, social standing, titles and viewpoints.
But with these distinctions a large proportion of us forget the base of our being and we are judged or cast judgment on others and in the process forgetting our humanity.
That we are all wonderfully the same but beautifully different.
A lot of the work holds meaning, from the type of material (OSB) used to house the screens and the different screens themselves, hinting at the idea of different versions of a common type of object being the same but also different at the same time but coming together to achieve an outcome.
To the placement of the artwork in its space, letting the viewer to see the back of the artwork as they walk by, seeing it for what it is physically. Looking at the idea that in society we put up a facade to others, but in reality behind that facade we are something different and more similar than it may seem.
Even the power and connecting cables on show are a nod towards our dependence on connectivity and electricity, be it the internet, our phones, etc we are a world where we are only a click away from each other, how we have become so connected to other places and people but also at times further apart using these connections in some ways to differentiate from each other and thus cast judgement and play on the differences as a negative.
To the subtle ‘no signal’ sign seen on the screens may be seen as a way to cover nudity, but this is in fact to highlight the issue of avoidance of gender identity and acceptance.
With the mass caravans that have traveled the globe in recent times from south America to the US border, to the caravans from the middle east into Europe and the people coming from northern Africa across the Mediterranean. To the vast movement of people in Asia from one country to the next all with the hope of prosperity, freedom from persecution for one of many different reasons of prejudgement and derision. In the hope of a better future, away from war or religious or social persecution, from hate and suffering in the hope of finding love and acceptance, a new life and a chance to be themselves.
These caravans are not new but something that has happened throughout human history.
They are made up of a collective of individuals from all different paths, but they are first and foremost humans, but are all different in many ways be it gender, sexuality, religion, age, race or cultural, political or social viewpoint including people of both morally good and bad standing.
The caravans are a representation of humanity, with the base fact that we are all human but with all our differences.
From the human trains going through Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, there is a global movement of people traveling from one place to another, but with a common thought coming from some people in their final destinations. This is of non acceptance and that they don’t want the train coming to their country causing ‘problems’ in one way or another and bringing something that is against their normality, be that a new aspect of culture, religion, society etc. These people forget that they are just like them on a fundamental level that of humanity, that if any of them were in their situation would they themselves not want to search out a better life, a life of acceptance and opportunity looking for prosperity and freedom for themselves and their families?
The screens each show one half of the human body, each depicted by a different person. These people are all from different backgrounds, be that race, religion, gender, sexuality, body size, political viewpoint, cultural background, class etc.
But they will come together to complete each human, made up of two individuals just as we are by our parents.
But with advancements in technology we are also able to create a human from three individuals, no longer the creation of a human from just two parents and this will be hinted at with some works being across three screens. These three screens will also be highlighting mental differences in people with the head of the human being in a separate screen to the body, pointing out that it is not just our physicality that makes us different but also our physiological aspect.
The underlying idea here is to show that in our ‘walk’ or ‘path’ in life we all start off as human and human we all are, we are all equal in the idea that we are a single species of people.
But it is with our progression through life and on our path that we change and gain distinctions, some are instant such as gender or race, some come later such as religion, social standing, titles and viewpoints.
But with these distinctions a large proportion of us forget the base of our being and we are judged or cast judgment on others and in the process forgetting our humanity.
That we are all wonderfully the same but beautifully different.
A lot of the work holds meaning, from the type of material (OSB) used to house the screens and the different screens themselves, hinting at the idea of different versions of a common type of object being the same but also different at the same time but coming together to achieve an outcome.
To the placement of the artwork in its space, letting the viewer to see the back of the artwork as they walk by, seeing it for what it is physically. Looking at the idea that in society we put up a facade to others, but in reality behind that facade we are something different and more similar than it may seem.
Even the power and connecting cables on show are a nod towards our dependence on connectivity and electricity, be it the internet, our phones, etc we are a world where we are only a click away from each other, how we have become so connected to other places and people but also at times further apart using these connections in some ways to differentiate from each other and thus cast judgement and play on the differences as a negative.
To the subtle ‘no signal’ sign seen on the screens may be seen as a way to cover nudity, but this is in fact to highlight the issue of avoidance of gender identity and acceptance.