Background on Shadowland

12 June 2007, 02:50AM

by Viv Mehes

Shadowland represents a further contribution to the national creative response to the unjust and cruel treatment of asylum seekers who have exercised their legal right to seek a safe haven in Australia.

The project was created over one and a half years in close collaboration with the participants. Many connections formed pathways for the complex and organic growth of Shadowland.

The seed was first sown while making weekly visits to Maribyrnong Detention Centre throughout 2001 in support of the detainees; stories of their experiences desperately needed to be told to counteract the lies, fear and prejudice which were magnified by asylum seekers forced invisibility, and also to contribute to our own histories of what is taking place in our country.

In 2002 the ground breaking play Kan Yama Kan offered refugees on temporary visas the opportunity to tell their own stories directly to the Australian public.

The process built trust, links and friendships which are now well embedded into our community, with some participants agreeing to continue to share their story on Shadowland.

A series of small grants and commissions followed as more refugees came on board and the photo narrative storytelling continued, producing first the independent Shadowland Banner Series and the exhibition of scrolls, Journey to the Sarab. Both the scrolls and the banners continue to be widely exhibited at festivals and events.

Together with the publication of the catalogue as a perpetual calendar, the exhibition represented the next stage in the life of Shadowland.

Participants in Shadowland guided the story gathering process in whichever way they felt comfortable, collaborating and informing the artwork created.

All care has been taken to protect participants as some fear personal reprisals, and/or ongoing danger in their country of origin for family members.

Shadowland was first exhibited at Gabriel Gallery in Footscray Community Arts Centre in September 2004 followed by a Victorian Regional Gallery Tour 2005-2007 and the Daylesford Foto Biennale 2007.

Joint copyright is held between the refugees, photographer and writer.

Funding partners

• Reichstein Foundation
• Brencorp Foundation
• Perpetual Foundation
• Victorian Multicultural Commission
• Arts Victoria

Project partners

• Brigidine Asylum Seeker Project
• Hotham Mission Asylum Seeker Project

Links to refugee organisations

• The Justice Project
• A Just Australia
• Refugee Council of Australia
• Victorian Foundation For Survivors of Torture
• Actors For Refugees
• Rural Australians for Refugees
• Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

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