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Conversations from Calais

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Black text on white background fills the entire frame. Text reads: "You didn't want a green or purple sweater, you wanted a black one. You looked at me and asked if one day you'd have a choice again. I told you I really hoped so and handed you the dark blue sweater." Instagram handle in bottom right corner reads @conversationsfromcalais.

Conversations from Calais

Date: 2019 - 2020
Artist: Mathilda Della Torre (French)
Dimensions:
Each: 42 x 29.7cm
Medium: Digital print on paper
Object number: UAC 998
DescriptionMathilda studied MA Graphic Communication Design at Central Saint Martins. Her artist's statement says that 'she uses her practice to look closer for longer, to bring people together through creative exchanges and to place marginalised voices at the centre of our stories. She explores the possibilities of bearing witness for different groups, by using graphic design as a starting point, method of engagement and a tool to visualise concerns and assemble publics.

'Conversations from Calais' aims to re-humanise those affected by the refugee crisis by using public space to share conversations volunteers have had with migrants met in Calais. It is a way of bearing witness for the thousands of displaced people stuck in Calais and trying to reach the UK, whose voices are so often silenced or ignored. This ever-growing collection of conversations focuses on capturing the diversity of experiences and avoids creating new stereotypes of refugees as villains, heroic figures or hopeless victims. By pasting these posters on walls all around the world, we are taking over public space, commemorating these voices and inspiring social change.'