We Are All Connected (II)
2022, Ireland
We Are All Connected (II), Nicola Anthony (c) 2022, Photo credit Benedict Hutchinson
We Are All Connected (II)
Mixed media, gold leaf
70cm (H) x 200cm (W) x 150cm (L)
We Are All Connected (II) was exhibited at the ‘Breaking Borders’ exhibition at Luan Gallery in Athlone, Ireland in 2022. In this exhibition, curator Valeria Ceregini, showcased Nicola Anthony’s sculptural installation Anthology of Displacement and We Are All Connected (the two pieces were installed in conversation with each other, the glass vessels mirroring the large sculpture above) as well as new work made during her residency at Luan Gallery. This group show also presented artworks by Trudi van der Elsen, Bernadette Hopkins, Vukašin Nedeljković, Beata Piekarska-Daly, Benedict Hutchinson and Myra Jago.
The text sculpture We Are All Connected includes stories of people who are currently seeking asylum in Ireland. Many of these refugees expressed a sense of imprisonment when their rights were lost in their home countries, and in many cases also since arriving in Ireland if they have not been granted asylum in society yet.
The artwork highlighted that these individuals often feel they live life in between two places - they have crossed both physical and mental borders. Some have moved by choice and economic migration, and some have been forced to move due to war or other circumstances outside of their control. Although there is a big difference between these two types of migration, both can give insight into the intangible, unspoken forces of home, borders, place, duality and otherness. It was important to find out the human side of their story - in contrast to impersonal reports about migration statistics.
Find out more about this artwork here or check out other installations of this artwork in different venues below.
We Are All Connected is a sculpture about immigration and displacement. It is about refugees, migrants, newcomers, or those who identify as ‘other’ within Ireland. For this series I invited personal stories from migrants and newcomers who have crossed physical and mental borders. The text is laser cut card and gold leaf, designed to reflect the precious nature of these stories. The artwork loops and twists inviting the viewer to physically move and interact with the work in the space, never being able to take in the whole story at once, but only slowly, piece by piece.
The site specific installation sculpture We are all connected has been selected for the Wells Art Contemporary exhibition, and has been transformed into a new configuration for the cloisters of Wells Cathedral.
The artwork We are all connected is about the pilgrimages we all make at some stage in our life, and weaves together stories from a range of people - from those who were forced to flea their homeland, to those who chose to migrate, and tries to draw out the universally felt longings for home, the need to find safety, the lifelong depth of family roots, and the complex state of displacement. The artwork aims to take the stigma off of being a refugee: to encourage viewers to look at migration as part of the natural journey of human beings, and displacement (the forced movement of persons) as a disaster that we can all find compassion for.
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