New collection on-line

A new collection of text/art is on-line at http://www.flickr.com/ This is a collection of small objects that are part of peoples everyday lives, things they care about – objects that symbolize care. For example, a teabag, tissues, a pair of glasses, safety pins, pill containers… Each object carries a label written by the participant, discussing things they have lost on one side and found on the other. It is part of a bigger project we are developing called Lost & Found.

Denial- the 8th stage of genocide

As part of the 'Eyebright' pilot project during our artist residency at Delamere Forest School, we looked at the 8 Stages of Genocide, for direction and inspiration.... Stage eight is Denial:

8. DENIAL is the eighth stage that always follows a genocide. It is among the surest indicators of further genocidal massacres. The perpetrators of genocide dig up the mass graves, burn the bodies, try to cover up the evidence and intimidate the witnesses. They deny that they committed any crimes, and often blame what happened on the victims. They block investigations of the crimes, and continue to govern until driven from power by force, when they flee into exile. There they remain with impunity, like Pol Pot or Idi Amin, unless they are captured and a tribunal is established to try them. The response to denial is punishment by an international tribunal or national courts. There the evidence can be heard, and the perpetrators punished. Tribunals like the Yugoslav or Rwanda Tribunals, or an international tribunal to try the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, or an International Criminal Court may not deter the worst genocidal killers. But with the political will to arrest and prosecute them, some may be brought to justice.

Quotes from The 8 Stages of Genocide by Gregory Stanton, President of Genocide Watch

Extermination

As part of the 'Eyebright' pilot project during our artist residency at Delamere Forest School, we looked at the 8 Stages of Genocide, for direction and inspiration.... Stage seven is Extermination:

7. EXTERMINATION begins, and quickly becomes the mass killing legally called “genocide.” It is “extermination” to the killers because they do not believe their victims to be fully human. When it is sponsored by the state, the armed forces often work with militias to do the killing. Sometimes the genocide results in revenge killings by groups against each other, creating the downward whirlpool-like cycle of bilateral genocide (as in Burundi). At this stage, only rapid and overwhelming armed intervention can stop genocide. Real safe areas or refugee escape corridors should be established with heavily armed international protection. (An unsafe “safe” area is worse than none at all.) The U.N. Standing High Readiness Brigade, EU Rapid Response Force, or regional forces -- should be authorized to act by the U.N. Security Council if the genocide is small. For larger interventions, a multilateral force authorized by the U.N. should intervene. If the U.N. is paralyzed, regional alliances must act. It is time to recognize that the international responsibility to protect transcends the narrow interests of individual nation states. If strong nations will not provide troops to intervene directly, they should provide the airlift, equipment, and financial means necessary for regional states to intervene.


Quotes from The 8 Stages of Genocide by Gregory Stanton, President of Genocide Watch

Talking Heads

Last Friday we had the wonderful opportunity to work with the group 'talking heads' at Walthew House. Walthew House http://www.walthewhouse.org.uk is an independent local charity supporting people in Stockport who are blind, visually impaired, Deaf or hard of hearing or who have dual sensory loss. 'Talking Heads' is a really welcoming group of people, of all ages and from all backgrounds, linked by their visual impairments. We where a group of 14, all of whom had fascinating insights into the discussion. I had prepared 2 pages of questions, but only managed to ask 4 of them! Phil wrote up notes from the conversation in a poetic form, which with the groups permission will be published on the internet, on paper and as spoken book, at a later date. Thanks again to all the members of 'Talking Heads' making us feels so welcome, we look forward to meeting with you again.

Preparation

As part of the 'Eyebright' pilot project during our artist residency at Delamere Forest School, we looked at the 8 Stages of Genocide, for direction and inspiration.... Stage six is Preparation:

6.   PREPARATION:  Victims are identified and separated out because of their ethnic or religious identity.  Death lists are drawn up.  Members of victim groups are forced to wear identifying symbols.  Their property is expropriated.  They are often segregated into ghettoes, deported into concentration camps, or confined to a famine-struck region and starved.  At this stage, a Genocide Emergency must be declared.  If the political will of the great powers, regional alliances, or the U.N. Security Council can be mobilized, armed international intervention should be prepared, or heavy assistance provided to the victim group to prepare for its self-defense.  Otherwise, at least humanitarian assistance should be organized by the U.N. and private relief groups for the inevitable tide of refugees to come.

Quotes from The 8 Stages of Genocide by Gregory Stanton, President of Genocide Watch.

Polarization

As part of the 'Eyebright' pilot project during our artist residency at Delamere Forest School, we looked at the 8 Stages of Genocide, for direction and inspiration.... Stage five is Polarization:

5. POLARIZATION: Extremists drive the groups apart. Hate groups broadcast polarizing propaganda. Laws may forbid intermarriage or social interaction. Extremist terrorism targets moderates, intimidating and silencing the center. Moderates from the perpetrators’ own group are most able to stop genocide, so are the first to be arrested and killed. Prevention may mean security protection for moderate leaders or assistance to human rights groups. Assets of extremists may be seized, and visas for international travel denied to them. Coups d’état by extremists should be opposed by international sanctions.

Organization

As part of the 'Eyebright' pilot project during our artist residency at Delamere Forest School, we looked at the 8 Stages of Genocide, for direction and inspiration.... Stage four is Organization:

4. ORGANIZATION: Genocide is always organized, usually by the state, often using militias to provide deniability of state responsibility (the Janjaweed in Darfur.) Sometimes organization is informal (Hindu mobs led by local RSS militants) or decentralized (terrorist groups.) Special army units or militias are often trained and armed. Plans are made for genocidal killings. To combat this stage, membership in these militias should be outlawed. Their leaders should be denied visas for foreign travel. The U.N. should impose arms embargoes on governments and citizens of countries involved in genocidal massacres, and create commissions to investigate violations, as was done in post-genocide Rwanda.

Quotes from The 8 Stages of Genocide by Gregory Stanton, President of Genocide Watch.

About everything | philip davenport, 2009

About everything | philip davenport, 2009

Printed book
22cm x 22cm

About everything is an elegy for power brokers and mass-production, it was constructed from a years-worth of newspapers, reordered and reshaped. The titles of ancient dictators - high-ranking officials from Rome, Russia, the medieval church - replace our contemporary Presidents and celebrities. As the poem progresses, words are replaced with zeroes, holes. Verses are parallelled with Davenport's photos and fragments of a sound score by Ben Gwilliam.

Design and type-setting is by artist Darren Marsh. The poem was devised by cross-column reading and can be read either vertically or horizontally, so that each verse has many possible paths through it. The images and the words vie for attention – as in news reportage – to make conflicts of meaning.

Available from http://www.applepie-editions.co.uk/

Dehumanisation

As part of the 'Eyebright' pilot project during our artist residency at Delamere Forest School, we looked at the 8 Stages of Genocide, for direction and inspiration.... Stage three is Dehumanisation:

3. DEHUMANIZATION: One group denies the humanity of the other group. Members of it are equated with animals, vermin, insects or diseases. Dehumanization overcomes the normal human revulsion against murder. At this stage, hate propaganda in print and on hate radios is used to vilify the victim group. In combating this dehumanization, incitement to genocide should not be confused with protected speech. Genocidal societies lack constitutional protection for countervailing speech, and should be treated differently than democracies. Local and international leaders should condemn the use of hate speech and make it culturally unacceptable. Leaders who incite genocide should be banned from international travel and have their foreign finances frozen. Hate radio stations should be shut down, and hate propaganda banned. Hate crimes and atrocities should be promptly punished.

Delamere Forest School: feedback

We’ve just received a thank you card and a wonderful pack of feedback for our recent artist residency, at Forest Delamere School. Some example comments follow:

“Philip and Lois came to Delamere and tackled a complex, emotive subject, the stages of genocide, with tact and sensitivity. The pupil’s responses to their excellent leads from this subject matter were imaginative and sometimes emotional. Some of the older pupils responded particularly well producing work they felt ownership towards, revealing part of themselves and their feelings..." Gill Taylor, Art Teacher

“I really enjoyed writing the love letters…” Nathan

“They were kind and understanding.. it was nice to try something a bit different using new techniques.” Class EG

“…We really liked vandalising the playground with the chalks, and playing around and making a mess with ink and pens. It was actually quite surprising at what turned out as we didn’t expect it to turn out as well as we thought it would do." Class EG

“…We hope you can come back again soon…” Andrew

“…my best bit was drawing and painting ink on coloured paper…” Shoshi

“Attending the art session especially set aside helped me develop my knowledge of the holocaust art and poetry.” YSR

“…This was very powerful work and helped me to understand the past in greater detail.” Jack

Phil and I would just like to thank the school again for making us feel so welcome. We hope to see you all again soon.