'THE DISPLACED' & 'THE VIEW FROM MARS' SERIES 2013-current
The View from Mars series explores the devastation of ordinary people - civilians in time of war, how we can live parallel lives with those who suffer without seeing, without recognising what is happening around us. If we were Martians would we understand the brutality, the embracing of conflict in these wars of attrition? how would we interpret the seemingly arbitrary destruction of beautiful landscapes and ordinary people. which claimed so many of her compatriots. The view of the Forbidden City was taken by the artist during her first trip to China in 2003 - from centre of power to tourist site in less than a century.....this work is a narrative of ambiguity.
The artists most recent works look at the huge issue of 'displacement' - the ongoing creation of refugees. The collages feature images of our rich architectural legacy (one of the ways in which we define a 'civilisation') side by side with images from Syria and Gaza, through them troop the displaced - Jewish, Syrian, Palestinian, Russian etc carrying their children and dragging their baggage. History repeating itself mercilessly. This first work in the series shows an image believed to be from circa 1910 of Korean 'Comfort Women' whom the Japanese Military (and many in contemporary Japanese society) claimed were 'paid prostitutes who earned a lot of money' alongside the image of a carefree young photographer in pre 1950 China not long after the Japanese massacres |