06.05, 28.05.2016
Absent Images is a project that spreads via public canvasses in the city and throughout the country. Billboard panels, advertising spaces, empty walls or windows, they all become carriers of a political message. The message is written in a language that is not understood by most of the people in this country. It’s the language of most of the people who fled their home country. The text wants to welcome them in their own language, and is an apology for the way this welcome happened so far. We apologize for not treating all humans equally. The questioning concerning the refugee-crisis is complex, but what is sure is that the political answer at this instance is insufficient, inept and in some cases inhuman. But what about our own politics? How do “we” - people who live here, with or without papers- relate to these newcomers? How do we let ourselves be influenced by media and politics? We apologize for not speaking up.
Help spread the message. Take your poster at the festival centre from 6 to 28 May, or download and print it here.
See also
Oblivion
Project by
Sarah Vanhee
Production
Vooruit & Manyone
Special thanks to
Arabic Translations Belgium bvba, Nellie Ivanova, Amjad Ali Shah, Tibor Moco, Matthieu Goeury, Safiye Ergurbuz, Hand-in-Hand Gent, Victoria Deluxe, Kurdish Institute Brussels
Thanks to
Daniel Blanga-Gubbay, Chris Bens, Katrien Reist, Marika Ingels, and all individuals and organisations who share and spread Absent Images