Thursday 20 August 2020

OTHERS AILYOS 2019 Leysin Switzerland

 




This installation of five ‘invisible’ figures is created to acknowledge the displaced, alien and imported members of the AILYOS community.

It is a tribute to the people who though, not indigenous, inform and enrich the community.

Inspired by a chance meeting of refugees housed in Leysin and my own experiences as a third culture citizen who attended The American College of Switzerland, the work examines the dance between local and foreign, familiar and foreign.

It invites questions regarding the positive impact outsiders have on the local economy, culture and customs. 

On a wider stage, it asks how the principles by which we construct our immigration policies and rules of acceptance or rejection of refugees and the displaced are determined.  

Also importantly, once policies have been created how are they humanely and fairly implemented and maintained?  Most positively the work acknowledges the contributions made by ‘Others’.

The installation is not site specific.  Has no reference to it’s immediate location but uses the region as a back-drop to illustrate the ultimate goal in incorporating these desperate factors that ultimately there is a paradox that though seemingly different, we all share the same fears, loves and hopes and while not indigenous we blend in and are all uniquely part of a whole family

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