How Can Visual Satire Contribute to the Discourse on Displacement?

Abstract

The permanent displacement of millions of people across the globe represents a humanitarian crisis on a scale that the world has not encountered before. Dealing with mass migration is also a challenge for the governments of host countries and communities. Nations in the New World have shifted from welcoming and accommodating immigrants to adopting policy positions that are openly hostile. The theoretical frameworks developed to understand migration and to develop policy responses are breaking down under the acceleration of mass migration. This exegesis explores the shortcomings of these frameworks in accounting for the lived experience of migrants and refugees and discusses my artwork, which attempts to respond to this issue. In particular, my visual satire aims to inform, illuminate, and extend the current discourse (via media and academic theory) on displacement and migration. In carrying out this research project, I have engaged with migrants and refugees living in Logan and surrounding areas, which has highlighted aspects of the lived experience that are common across cultures, age groups and class but remains unsaid in the existing discourse. I have used visual symbols in my artworks to capture and express their experience; therefore, my work provides a means for extending and expanding the discourse to include this lived experience. A historical analysis of these symbols across time, culture and location provides a test of their relevance in approaching a complex issue such as displacement.