This work is inspired by a James Nachtewey photograph of a starving Somalian man in 1992, which gave me the same guilty and helpless feeling I experience when I see appeals for money from various charity organisations.Images we are usually shown in these appeals, as well as news reports, are disturbing and normally make most of us want to look away, change the channel, fast forward, ignoring what is happening and why it is happening. The fact that it is all occurring so far away and removed from how we live here in relative luxury makes it easier to disassociate from the issues. Poverty and corruption, however isn't just something that happens in a far away continent. It is everywhere. Here. Our country isn't blameless by any means.
My work uses a different visual approach to try to get past the barrier of disassociation. My hope is that this will make people interested in the problems and shed some light on the root of some of the issues in Africa, past and present. For example, how we in the UK either contribute to or benefit from these problems.
Using children's toys and craft to create the set and subject, I have confronted African wars, famines and colonialism. I took on a rather simplified summarisation of the history, as well as a comic book ending to aspire to. The dark humour with the Incongruity Theory of humour approach that I have taken, although it may seem insensitive, is necessary for my work in this subject. This provides a soft medium to reflect a harsh reality. My intention is to promote awareness and provoke change, by drawing viewers in instead of making them look away.
