Refugees and Representation: Understanding Sense of Self Through Art

Keywords: war, refugees, migration study, visual methods, archives, art, representation
Session Type: Virtual Poster Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 45

Abstract

The Veterans Book Project is an art project organized by artist Monica Haller that collects books created by those affected by the American wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The books combine photography, poetry, prose and visual art to create powerful testimonies of wartime experiences. This research utilizes the art project as an archive, using the books as a way to understand how those affected by war use art to represent themselves, their changing senses of place, and their relationship to and with war. This reseach explores themes such as placemaking during wartime, shifting relationships between the self and the state, and what it means to turn these experiences into tangible representations.