As conflict and war continues across the world, artists are exploring ways to cut through the mainstream news narrative in order to highlight the ongoing refugee crisis. Lydia Ashman looks at current projects, artworks, and exhibitions that are tackling this urgent humanitarian and political issue.
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Bern O’Donoghue began her project Dead Reckoning in April 2015, following the reports of two boats capsizing off the coast of Libya, which resulted in the deaths of 1,200 people.
“It was very distressing to read and hear the pejorative language used by some politicians and sections of the media in response to the accidents,” she says. “Where were the tributes? Who was telling these people’s stories? Why were we not identifying with them?
“I decided to make some work to bridge the distance that I could see widening between people who are displaced and those of us living in safety.”
Read the article on a-n.
This picture reminds me of the practice Greek had when they lived with all their own selves democracy : they used to name boats and ships with politically referred, value of democracy referred names.
Then, I see names on these paper boats, and it reminded besides touching my deep feelings, on a second, third glance, what indeed the Greeks, it is told, use to do.
Well, we could do the same with boats, planes, bridges, projects, web sites, apps, organizations and name these with the names of migrants that actually made it, instead of practicing the wrong step of (everytime) remembering the sad things. We have a society full of negativity. And it takes just one drop of black to make everything gray or dark, it takes lot of white to make everything back positive and bright.
The truth is there is nothing clear and straight, but still we need to push yet not idealistic, but open and happy view of what is happening. Traveling, exchanging help, escaping and making it are actually positive things.
These are stories must be remembered (of course as the sad ones and even more then these last ones), but why not embedding this on the boats with stories, images, videos, comics, to give a name and a soul that proudly can sail over this mass mediatic mainstream flow of easy gut feeling distorting message of negativity? Well we can, and it takes really light ideas and messages, light content transferring deep human, natural messages, because we are debris, we are nature, we all are nomads and migrants, we all can understand what is happening and has always happened, and will always be a part of us.
We all can be migrants, we all are, we all can get captivated by simple stories.
Why nobody has so far never told stories of these guys who make it and escape all kind of odds?
I think these stories might be really interesting.
In Desierto (that speaks about an other ocean of inhumanity and it’s pretty harsh but has a quite good couple of scenes, especially the one played around a rocky mountain where “Inhumanity plays hide & seek with humanity”) you can see this kind of story developed and delivered.
Are we able to speak openly about who we are, can we look in the mirror and speak freely?
How do we really communicate today isn’t obsolete? There is too much taboo and really few that do it well.
Why not making videogames about migrants. Today survival, crafting and role playing are important.
This War of Mine was a clear Success, it was developed and spread mainly true Play station but it is also playable on PC. Games also as Valiant (Ubisoft studios made) are great.
We need to develop more cutting edge and light (as Calvino said) communication…
Did anybody made a serious unbiased assessment of the characteristics of the mass media communication?
It’s light, full of bs and easy to grab and just feel satisfied. We can do much better and it’s not about polarization against them, it’s just about making it better … we must hack the process by making the narrative start to feel it is worth it to tell how things are.
Two things I have definitely discovered are missing today are:
EXPLANATORY Journalism, tell how things are put in philosophy, put inside explanations, argumentation, well rounded arguments when something is told, explain why and do it in a clear and deeply informed way.
EDUTAINMENT – this is the key that with gamification can be the rhythm, the frequency under which a lot can be conveyed.
(LEGGEREZZA (cit. Calvino) Lightness\Agility – — Lezioni Americane 1993.
These are the missing or the used with success ways that I would definitely use to set sail for a new wave of narration, understanding, sympathy, engagement to these important Planetary matters.
Sorry for the brainstorming ;/
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