Ceiling Rose, Room 1021

Human Rights Series, Easiflow 100, 200 x 200 cm, Artist’s Collection

The title references the United Nations Treaty 1021 on genocide, and Room 101 in George Orwell’s novel 1984. If the state is considered to have a political role in perpetuating subjective and objective violence, then perhaps it bears a potential responsibility for the repetition of atrocities. Bones, weapons, and sex toys are metaphorical references to the sexual and physical atrocities of war. There is perhaps an ironic discomfiture by representing those considered less than human as architectural features of buildings owned by the very people who stole their agency.

The Human Rights Series offers a voice for those treated as less than human, and reflects resurfaced experiences of my earlier career as a young medic working at the Khao-i-Dang refugee camp in Cambodia following Pol Pot’s brutal regime.

Ceiling Rose was part of an installation using traditional architectural features, including a pillar, architrave, and skirting board, to create Room 1021.