In Transit is a multidisciplinary presentation that focuses on the tentative, limbo-like experience of living between different cultures, exploring the stories of immigrants who traverse the no-man’s land that exists between home and hope.
The lives of those fleeing from unsafe, economically depressed homelands towards dreams of a more secure future are filled with boredom, sadness, fear, and apathy. They experience the deep absence of the loss of loved ones, familiar places, and citizenship. The photography and video works in this exhibition are created in Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, Italy, and Iran, and are testimonies to day-to-day survival alongside the struggle to find a sense of normalcy and stability and a place to call home.
Utilizing photography, performance and filmmaking, each body of work examines the experiences of those thrust into a culture that is markedly different from their own. These stories illustrate the physical and psychological challenges faced, while additionally looking at the deeper discussion of what constitutes citizenship in the wake of the enormous migrations into Europe. Through their narratives, the artists strive to disrupt accepted misconceptions about immigration and otherness in order to tell a more accurate story. By collaborating with their subjects they give voice to those who must endure mountains of dead time while tangled up in bureaucracy in order to become more than merely ‘registered aliens.’
In Transit began a US tour at Blue Sky Gallery in Portland, and then continued on to SF Camerawork, to San Diego State University Downtown Gallery, now continuing with at Lunder Arts Centre in Cambridge MA.
The exhibition is made possible with the support of the partner galleries, Bernard Osher Foundation along with East Wing | Doha and LensCulture.
The exhibition features East Wing Artists, Tanya Habjouqa (US/JO), George Awde (US/LB), Daniel Castro Garcia (UK) and additional artists Gohar Dashti (IR), and Stefanie Zofia Schulz
A catalogue of the exhibition is available on line for purchase through Blue Sky Books.
