Tracing a Line: UNB Arts Centre welcomes refugee photo gallery
Toronto-based artist Natasha Lan feels public media often “falls short” on highlighting individual stories that she says need to be told. She hopes the “TRACE” exhibit, her latest gallery with the UNB Arts Centre and Beaverbrook Art Gallery, will remind New Brunswickers the refugee crisis is far from over.
“We’re in a position where we can say things that need to be said,” she said. “I feel like the public media often falls short on the stories that need to be told, and this is where art and art galleries have such power to bring stories to the public that often get missed.”
Photos within the exhibit ranged from mountainous piles of lifejackets to widespread refugee camps. It’s just a sample of what a larger exhibit at the Beaverbrook has to offer. The full collection debuted at the gallery on Jan. 14 and a smaller display arrived at the Arts Centre on Jan. 17 to more than 100 people.
The photos come from the 2017 documentary of the same name. It was co-directed by Raluca Bejan, a former St. Thomas University professor, and Ioan Cocan, a graphic designer and media arts worker from Romania. The film focuses on the Mediterranean Refugee Crisis of 2015.
According to the Human Rights Watch, the Mediterranean is the deadliest route to migrate away from crises, including war, lack of employment or dictatorship governments. The organization believes around 1,800 people died within the first five months of 2015.
Monica Boquin, a second-year international student at St. Thomas University, was a research assistant for the project and she knows what it’s like having to leave her home country. In Honduras, Boquim said citizens are often forced to migrate to North America to escape violence and poverty.
“I understand the reasons behind why a person decides to grab their stuff and leave their country because there’s no future,” said Boquin. “I, basically, did it myself by coming to Canada, so, for me, it’s a very sensitive topic and one that is very close to my heart.”
Working on an exhibit like this, Boquim said her fears are very real. She said it can be tough looking at some of the work included in the gallery.
“It makes me feel very helpless, to be honest, just looking at life jackets, for example, knowing that these people are dying,” she said. “These people are hopeless, basically, because they’re stuck in a certain situation and there’s no way to help them.”
The exhibit at the UNB art centre will run until Feb. 14. The full collection at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery is on until Feb. 7.
