Karst Contemporary Art Review on "Notes On Displacement"
Entry date and time
29/09/2023
15:39
This is my response to the video installation by Khaled Jarrar called "Notes On Displacement". The exhibition was about a range of things such as; Climate change, the Apartheid System of racial segregation, conflicts and war affecting people. That's when I came across Khaled Jarrar's work it was about people moving from a place full of war and conflict to look for refuge and safety in Germany and other places in Europe. This brings me onto the curator behind this project Ashish Ghadiali. Ghadiali is an activist and artist who put this project together to view the discovery of “Climate Aparthied” through a range of artists in contemporary art, scientist and activists, showing various approaches in response to the struggling communities experiencing a climate and environment shifts first hand.
This video piece within the project creates a space where I felt the displacement as the gallery filled with more and more people the noise around me drowned out the audio of the film piece, I couldn’t make out what was happening around me. It was also a large installation space that was contrasted by the sound pollution making it feel smaller and enclosed.
The video editing was key to me because there was lots of parts that kept cutting to different moments, places and people making it confusing as to what was happening. Capturing the raw emotions and experiences of the people and how transport was handled. Looking back on the video I remember thinking how it's unfair that these people are trying to survive, on a constant battle for peace in a unstable environment. I looked at various websites about this project and learned different definitions of the exhibitions for example Jarrar’s film response showing a very real example of the conflict, comparing Ashanti Hare’s response using a more personal performance demonstrating the narrative folk lore and ritual practices, working with textiles and costume.
The video was distressing piece as families were being moved through the country, signing random papers creating a stressful situation.They were rushed and put in these camps with poor conditions. Surrounded by large metal fences, with no water and the food was bad making people sick. He captured them protesting about the bad conditions they were in. I also thought the camps were far from comfort and disgusting. I thought it was cruel as they just wanted to be away from the war and in a safe place. There was also a part where a young boy described the bombings and killings he witnessed, which made me feel slightly disturbed because children shouldn't be exposed to something like that.
He also filmed at night where it was too dark to see anything despite this he kept it in the film, as a viewer this left me questioning if the people were safe. This project exhibition showed different perspectives of an ongoing battle for freedom in these areas of the world. Specifically this piece gave me an incite on the many problems going on around us, it made me feel helpless watching the suffering in the video. It was really inspiring because it showed different personal accounts and views ranging in different age groups, different genders and occupations.
[End Entry]
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