Violence, humanity and art

I am deeply troubled by the violence inflicted on civilians around the world. Genocide, invasion, corruption, oppression, war and ecoside are causing unspeakable suffering.

I struggle to reconcile the value we place on local individual human lives with the ways in which violence is justified, tokenised, and normalised at a distance.

Lines are blurred between defense and attack, motives hidden, protest suppressed. Greed, polarisation, populism, and complicity through action & inaction are modelled by leaders on the world stage, and percolate through society. Whatever the political context, the protection of life and human rights should be a priority. UN Declaration of Human Rights

My artistic practice addresses social conditioning. Sometimes the news feels impossible to watch - and we are conditioned to carry on as normal. To bear witness is vital yet can be overwhelming.

I support artists resisting that conditioning - drawing attention to national policy and global suffering. For examples of such work, see Christine Roychowdry, Misan Harriman, Matthew Collings.