Back to Gallery
Next work
|
2002 was the year of a football (soccer) World Cup, and of the Tampa affair. A boatload of refugees was picked up at sea by the Norwegian tanker Tampa. The Australian government, seeking re-election and needing something to give them a boost in the polls, refused the Tampa entry to any Australian port. They took the refugees off the ship and into an off-shore detention centre, an act that polarised the Australian community. It was as if the pro and anti-refugee proponents were supporters of two opposing football teams. It is said football is not a matter of life and death - it is much more important than that. And so it seemed for the Tampa affair. This work was about the polarisation of our nation, but almost everyone who saw it thought it was a pro-refugee statement. The two sides in the refugee crisis are depicted as opposing sides in a table soccer game. The refugees who get past their sinking boats, shark infested waters and patrol boats, supported by lawyers and church leaders face navy and police forces as they dash for their goal - which is a refugee camp behind barbed wire. In the last line of defence for Australia stands the (then) Prime Minister, John Howard, and the (then) Immigration Minister , Phillip Ruddock. These are the only two figures depicted with faces - all the other players are anonymous. Under the legs of the table at Australia's end of the table are the Australian Migration Act and its Regulations, which tilt the table to make it an uphill struggle for the refugees. As one commentator said sarcastically "You can't have a level playing field - that wouldn't be fair to our side!" 110 cm x 110 cm x 90 cm high. Mixed media, including 20 figures carved from wood. Available. Price $2,400. |
