Installation of two works in juxtaposition: ‘Many people did not expect to stay here that long’ (2022) and ‘ICITIAE’ (2020). ‘Many people (...)’ presents a large solarised image of a group of Afghans¹, left behind after the hurried evacuation of US led military forces in 2021. The scene has been silkscreen printed in metallic silver ink on blue reflective ‘prismatic’ foil. The prints are divided across three aluminium panels which are shuffled then brought back together with a black vinyl border and text, referenced in the title of the work. Viewers are invited to photograph the work using flash, which when doing so, restores the inverted image to its original state and places the viewer in the role of the original photographer, taking a picture of refugees. ‘ICITIAE’, a companion piece, is a fragment of historical stone masonry from the city of Amsterdam’s archives, on which is inscribed ‘icitiae’, suggesting a part of the latin word ‘amicitiae’, meaning friendship. The stone is covered in multiple, competing layers of text, drawn on in graphite, which collect quotations from news articles concerning various humanitarian crises.

Realised as part of the group exhibition ‘Moving Stories’, Museum Het Valkhof, Nijmegen, 10 February – 29 May 2022.

1. Initial source: photograph of displaced Afghans by Bernat Armangue/AP Photo