This collage was created at Callendar House, during a workshop delivered by Never Such Innocence, in response to Diana Forster’s art exhibition Somewhere to Stay. Below, the artist Alicia A. (Larbert High School) explains her vision.
This Collage looks to specifically depict the abrupt disruption forced migration has on someone’s life. How each individual story of each person who goes through this experience is different, the underlying violence and horror of the forced migration and the rip and separation of peoples lives this can cause as well as how if they make it through life will continue on but will remain a scarring part. The collage is formed of the main components: the layered collage background – items cut from vintage magazines – ripped cardboard frame and the focal point of two people lined by red tissue paper and an article from a magazine.
The main inspirations from the exhibit ‘Somewhere to Stay’ were the ten main panels, specifically the last panel, the ‘cabbage patch’, and the travel posters/advertisements. I took the idea of the last panel – ‘Staying forever’ – which included an amalgamation of all the countries and places they called home and the steps and experiences they went through. I interpreted this panel to express both the feeling of finally staying in one place, finding your ‘forever home’/the final resting places of all those who passed on the journey, as well as how the experience and trauma that forced migration creates becomes forever a part of a person becoming a part of their life story. The ‘Cabbage Patch’ also influenced me through expressing the story of the cabbages that fed the children in the logging camps when the children would sneak into the officers’ garden to nibble at the edges of the cabbage leaves. The use of white cabbages growing in bullet casings represented to me the children who were forced to grow up in this forced displacement, as the white cabbages still grew symbolising the innocence of the children that starkly contrast the bullet casing that show the undercurrent of fear and violence that created this forced migration as well as the hard labour, starvation diets and violent force they faced. The travel/advertisement posters such as ‘Uzbekistan’ promote the harsh Silk Road and used travel posters to depict how people were forced to live and work in these places away from what was their home, contrasting the inviting posters that promote travel to these places.
The Collaged background is made up of cut segments of vintage magazines. The use of magazines makes reference to some of Diana Forster’s work based off of promotional/travel posters, e.g. her ‘Uzbekistan’ Giclee print promoting the harsh Silk Road. Some depict soldiers lined up in ranks showing the military aspect of the war, reflecting the soldiers who first took people away from their homes into camps to work. There is an image showing an explosion that depicts the large acts of violence of the war, as well as a segment describing the suicide of Hitler specifically referencing WWII. There are also images that refer towards the experiences of those who were forced to migrate; train tracks show where some lived for weeks whilst being transported to the logging camps, the ‘NOW!’ exhibits the immediate force they experienced when being removed from their homes, the prominent fearful eyes conveys the fright, panic and terror faced by forced migrants. The image of sequential buildings depicting the multiple places they would call home over the years as well as referencing the sequential aspect of the main panels of the exhibit. The focal point of the piece is the centre image of two people that are symbolic of the displacement that the forced migrants faced. The image of two people going about their lives is lined by red tissue paper then a section of an article to create an aspect of separation from the background, this is also used to draw attention and highlight it. The red is used to contrast the majority monochrome collage whilst also depicting the pain they went through. The article that is used to line that symbolises how each person has their own story that also reflects how the experience will stay with them forever. The rough ripped cardboard is used to create a border around the collage. It conveys the abrupt and harmful change of forced migration and the unclean separation it can cause such as the loss of family and home as well as being separated from family when making the long arduous journey to finally find somewhere to stay forever.