UK Exhibition 2017: Arts for Justice - A Glimpse into Human Trafficking
R-Space Gallery
Lisburn, Northern Ireland
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Featuring works from artists all across the globe, this exhibition addresses the theme of human trafficking and modern day slavery. Each work of art represents an aspect of human trafficking and seeks to spread awareness and empower it's viewers with the tools needed to help end slavery.
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Art is a powerful mouthpiece for change and the more we expose human trafficking, the more successful we will be in ending it and preventing people from exploitation.
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For those who have been a victim to it, art is a powerful from of therapy, to redeem the power of their voices, to break the silence and to give them a vehicle through which they can share their story and help heal.
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Everyone is priceless. No one should be bought or sold.
Dear John
ARIANE PAVIANI
Short Film
France / United States
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Behind the Facade
PEN JONES
Oil on wood
Northern Ireland.
A lonely, abused 16 year old girl who seeks solace in the attentions of an stranger online who asks her to take nude photos of herself.
An impoverished family who are approached by a relative who promises to provide an education for their daughter if she does exactly what he says.
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An abusive boyfriend who needs his girlfriend to pay for his drug addiction by selling herself.
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So often Human Trafficking starts behind closed doors within the family home. Abuse, addiction, ignorance, desperation. Traffickers will exploit whatever the weakness is.
Bare
AUBREY PASKER
Photography
United States
Bare
AUBREY PASKER
Photography
United States
So much of the damage that is done to victims of trafficking is psychological and hidden under the surface. What if you could see it?
This series of photos give a visual representation of how women in prostitution feel. Sometimes they face real physical abuse but a lot of it is hidden. If a client could see the blood, the scars, the torn skin that a woman's body goes through from working in this "industry", perhaps they would think twice about contributing to the demand and market that traffickers exploit.
"It was jarring, almost, when I got home, to see all the scars in the mirror close up. It made it all real, and almost hurt me. The physical interpretation - the red, goopy mess - manifested and exposed something of my heart. And the act of peeling away the scabs and watching the blood wash down the shower drain... I can't even explain the emotion that packed. It had more of an effect on my than I had expected. This shoot was a beautiful, and yet difficult, experience."
- Quote by a model from the shoot.
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Bound & Voiceless
PAULINA CICHY
Photography
Poland / Northern Ireland
Awareness is so important in explaining to people exactly what trafficking means. When a victim is tricked into trafficking, so often they think they are to blame. They feel responsible for signing their own freedom away. Traffickers create false contracts and make their victims sign it, like a job contract. From that point on, the victim thinks they are legally bound to them and when they realise the job is not what they thought, they feel it is their fault.
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It is never a victim's fault.
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They are bound with invisible chains and made voiceless by threats.
Silenced
PAULINA CICHY
Photography
Poland / Northern Ireland
It is estimated that one third of all trafficking victims are children. So many children are silenced by the exploitation of adults, those who are supposed to be care-givers, protectors and providers. It is our duty the world over to protect children, no matter the skin tone, religious beliefs or nationality.
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Street children in Brazil are considered a "nuisance" and the police tend to look the other way when criminal gangs recruit them, threaten them or make them "disappear". We must be advocates for those who have been silenced and scream loud enough for their sakes.
Trapped
SCOTT CARD
Paint on Canvas
England
"I was in prostitution from age 15 to 19. My friends and I lived in one apartment with the madam. When we had clients, taxi drivers would call and she would tell us to get ready. The clients waited in bars, nightclubs or hotels. Sometimes, we brought them to our apartment. We worked from 4pm till late night or early morning with three to four clients a day. Sometimes we used condoms, but sometimes we didn’t. Most of the clients were foreigners who didn’t speak my language and didn’t care about my age. I didn’t know how to contact the police and I didn’t know if the police would even care. I wanted to run away, but was scared the gang would find me and kill me. My self-loathing grew, so I began injecting myself with drugs. I tried to numb myself from the pain so I wouldn’t feel anything at all.
When I turned 17, the madam told us that a pimp was selling us abroad. One girl was sold in Poland, two in Budapest, and the rest of us were taken to Ravenna, Italy. When we arrived, we were sold to men whose language we didn’t understand. They took us to a brothel filled with women aged 14-32, trafficked from Belorussia, Poland, and Lithuania. We had to take care of our clients in the public restrooms within 15 minutes. Pimps prevented us from escaping and used violence to force us to work in the streets."
- Loreta, human trafficking survivor, Lithuania.
Two Faces
LAUREN SPENCE
Oil on Canvas
Northern Ireland
For many women, they choose to harden themselves in order to survive the horrors of prostitution. Whether through drug abuse, alcohol, or suppressing their emotions, they do whatever it takes to make the life they are living bearable. For many who cry, refuse to give in, fight back or try to escape, they usually face more violence, or even death.
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Hardness is a survival method, but this can be misinterpreted by many passers by or onlookers as a sign that the person has "chosen" this life or is greedy or a criminal. People lack sympathy or understanding for people like this, thus isolating the victim even more. It is important that we have a full understanding of the trauma these women have been through, whether we can see the pain on their faces or not, for they are all wearing a mask.