The Great Walls of Europe

An Examination of Street Art and Graffiti Regarding European Migration

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Exhibition Explanation

Peoples and cultures have always tried to differentiate and delineate themselves from others. We construct walls and borders designed to keep others out for a myriad of reasons ranging from the desire to retain what we perceive makes us special to the desire for defense from perceived outside threats. Though this process may be driven by natural urges, it is far from innocent. Walls intended to keep others out also keep their builders isolated within at the same time. This halting or regulating of people, cultures, and ideas can have disastrous impacts for those on both sides of the boundary.

Since the creation of the European Union following World War II, there has been a concerted effort within the region to begin lowering the walls and borders between states. The implementation of the Schengen Zone signaled an unprecedented opening and opportunity within the region. Continuing crises across the world, however, have complicated matters in Europe as a startling number of immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers have flooded across the seas and borders in hopes of survival. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. In the case of the migrant crisis currently confronting the EU, there has not been one such reaction, but instead several movements have arisen as people struggle to deal with the new uncertainties and conditions facing them. These reactions have played out across Europe and the world’s walls. The physical barriers intended to keep people out of a certain space have become canvases for competing narratives regarding the refugee crisis. They no longer serve merely as structural supports and shelters, but also message boards.

Several notorious street artists, such as Blu, Ai WeiWei, and JR have each made their marks on walls, buildings, and shipping containers in support of the refugees. Others, like Herakut, have brought people together through their medium and a shared experience. Across Europe and Northern Africa, such artists create images attempting to capture and demonstrate the simultaneous suffering and hope of those seeking shelter in the EU. Unfortunately, these artists’ efforts and sympathies are not shared by all who already reside in the EU. On other walls in Europe, an uglier message exists. One of hate and racism. One of fear and uncertainty. One of graffiti and nooses.

This exhibit displays these competing narratives currently raging within Europe regarding the refugees and their plight side by side in an attempt to recognize the diversity of opinions that exists and perhaps gain a clearer understanding of how European society is struggling to reconcile its many facets with the crisis it faces. While hate speech and racism are displayed in this exhibit, their inclusion was purposeful and not intended as promotion. Without recognizing that such a sentiment exists within sectors of society and working to understand why it exists, meaningful steps towards reconciliation and acceptance between residents and refugees will not succeed.

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Explicit Graffiti Targeting Immigrants Spreads Across London Post-Brexit

Mainstream media headlines have been dominated by an incident in West London, where racist graffiti was found on the entrance to a Polish cultural center in Hammersmith. However, it appears post-Brexit, anti-immigrant images are also popping up in other areas of London - and they're definitely not pretty. This article was posted online by Sputnik on June 26, 2016 at https://sputniknews.com/politics/20160627/1042002467/brexit-racism-london-immigrants.html.

After the United Kingdom voted in a referendum (commonly called Brexit) regarding whether or not it would continue to be a member of the European Union, there was a major surge in displays of hate speech and xenophobia. Britain’s decision to exit the EU shocked many around the world, and it was fueled in part by an underlying sentiment of anti-immigration. Following the vote, several instances of racist graffiti appeared across London. Two such cases were directed at Polish immigrants. Though the refugee crisis stems from wars in the Middle East, these examples of hate speech demonstrate that anti-immigration sentiments and racism against other people even within the region generally defined as Europe remain alive and well among certain individuals.

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Germany investigates mock gallows for Merkel at anti-Islam rally

Two nooses hung from the gallows in Dresden, Germany, with signs saying they were reserved for Angela 'Mummy' Merkel and vice-chancellor Siegmar 'The Pack' Gabriel. This article by Allan Hall was posted online by The Daily Mail on October 13, 2015 at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3270819/Germany-investigates-mock-gallows-Merkel-anti-Islam-rally.html.

During a rally in Dresden, anti-immigration protestors displayed a gallows with two nooses denoted for Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vice Chancellor Siegmar Gabriel. Roughly 9,000 people were reported participating in the protests aimed against Chancellor Merkel’s open door policy for refugees fleeing violence in the Middle East. This rally came in the wake of several cases of racist, anti-immigrant, and anti-Islamic graffiti appearing around the city, particularly in areas with high concentrations of refugees. While the German government strives to lead the EU through this crisis, its policies welcoming large numbers of immigrants into the country appear to be energizing a contingency of detractors as well. Tensions among European citizens and states have grown as the number of immigrants entering and seeking to enter the region have swelled exponentially as their living conditions destabilize and disintegrate. The dichotomy between those willing to welcome the refugees and those wary of such policies’ impacts has resulted in competing expressions regarding the issue and worries about history repeating itself as far-right nationalist movements appear to be gaining political traction in countries such as Germany, France, and England.

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Hate Attacks Rising in Europe: Report

Europe has been struggling both logistically and culturally to deal with the massive influx of migrants. This article was posted online TeleSUR on September 16, 2016 at http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Hate-Attacks-Rising-in-Europe-Report-20160916-0020.html.

In addition to the instances of graffiti and symbols directed against refugees and policy makers seeking to support them, there has also been a reported increase of physical and online attacks against them around Europe. As tensions flair, the actions taken against immigrants have progressed from slurs, to racist graffiti, to protests, and now to physical violence. At the same time, there has also been a reported increase in online hate speech directed at migrant communities. This demonstrates how digital borders have arisen during the technological era. Minority and migrant groups are now subject to attacks in their everyday lives on the street as well as at home online.

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http://aestheticsofcrisis.org/2015/15-pieces-of-street-art-and-graffiti-from-europe-and-beyond-showing-solidarity-in-the-ongoing-refugee-crisis/.

This site aims to display some of the visual representations of the ongoing refugee crisis. One page on the site shows fifteen different pieces of street art ranging from stickers and slogans to complex wall murals. While the site does not go into depth about the people responsible for the art, it succeeds at displaying the breadth of ways in which people have tried to turn urban spaces into positive message boards of support. The image below is one such example of solidarity. It depicts Paddington Bear along with the words “migration is not a crime”. A simple, but effective statement of support.

The site displays several other simple, but meaningful statements of support such as an image of the side of a building in Germany on which someone has written “kein mensch ist illegal” (no person is illegal). Such works are effective because of their simplicity. They demonstrate that anyone and everyone can show their support; one does not have to be an accomplished artist to transform a wall into a welcome.

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JR’s Art Installation Saves Immigrants at Sea

When French street artist JR launched a 1,200-foot container ship this summer bearing an enormous photograph, he never imagined that the crew would end up saving refugees at sea. This article by Inti Landauro was posted online by The Wall Street Journal on December 18, 2014 at http://www.wsj.com/articles/jrs-art-installation-becomes-a-rescue-at-sea-1418941412.

This article examines the work of a French street artist who goes by JR. As part of his “Women are Heroes” series, JR pasted the shipping containers on the Magellan with the giant black and white photo of the eyes of a Kenyan woman. His intention was to use a nontraditional space for his art to raise awareness to the struggles immigrants, particularly women, go through. During the course of the Magellan’s route, the crew stopped to save 213 refugees who were aboard a fishing boat trying to flee to Greece from Libya. Installations such as this one and acts of mercy like the crew’s demonstrate the range of ways in which people can display solidarity with the refugees. Below is an image from the article depicting JR’s work on the Magellan.

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This is an image of an installation on the Berlin Concert Hall by Ai WeiWei, a Chinese artist and activist. The work consists of 14,000 personal floatation devices wrapped around the columns. Each of the life jackets was worn by a refugee who was rescued from the Mediterranean and brought to the Greek island of Lesbos. Ai WeiWei constructed the installation in February of this year in anticipation of the Cinema for Peace gala held at the concert house on February 15th. The installation aims to raise awareness regarding the dangerous journey millions of refugees are taking across Mediterranean fleeing violence and persecution.

This is a closer up look at the installation showing how each column is wrapped with personal floatation devices.

Both of the images are from Gertrud K.’s Flikr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/gertrudk/24928877121/in/photolist-E8QH2t-E5bEDB-Dapp7E-E88fYn-DF1H2u-DYT1Ee/ and are available for use under the creative commons license by-nc-sa which can be found at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/legalcode.

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This is the website of the German street artist duo Herakut on which one can view portfolios of the team's projects in the Al-Zaatari refugee camp, the refugee asylum in Potsdam, and various other places across Germany and the world. http://www.herakut.de/

Herakut is a German street art duo that has completed several incredible wall murals around the world regarding the refugee crisis. The team often invites children to participate in the creation of the murals in order to open an avenue of expression to them in addition to bringing together both refugee and citizen children. 

“Colours of Resilience” is a video by Herakut detailing the partners’ project in the Al-Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. The video can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjJ2KFDPLN8#action=share and is also embedded on the partners’ website.

In February of 2014, the German street art duo Herakut joined the AptART (Awareness & Prevention Through Art) organization in a Jordanian refugee camp established for the millions of Syrians fleeing their country’s civil war. As the partners designed a wall mural depicting the face of a child in a tree, they also invited children from both the refugee camp and the neighboring Jordanian town to participate. The children added their handprints and ideas to the mural while also having the chance to interact with one another. Herakut wished to not only create a hopeful image in the refugee camp, but also use art to bridge the divide between the Syrian and Jordanian children. This video documents the team’s creation and provides a commentary on the Syrian civil war. It demonstrates yet another way in which art can have a positive impact in the lives of refugees, bring together the next generation, and hopefully generate a brighter future together.

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Street Artists Paint the Refugee Crisis • FRANK151

The refugee crisis due to the ongoing Syrian civil war has garnered a great deal of attention without much being done to address the situation. This article by Paolo Veloria was posted on Frank at http://frank151.com/street-artists-paint-refugee-crisis/.

This article explores three works by street artists around the world depicting the refugee crisis and how immigrants are being received. The first is a work by the Italian street artist Blu in the Spanish enclave of Melilla, which is discussed further in another post. The second work was done by an unknown artist in Brazil. It is a graffiti painting of the three year-old Syrian boy Aylan Kurdi who tragically drowned. Around the image of Aylan the words “paz” (peace) and “abandonas” (abandoned) are repeatedly spray-painted in black. The third image can be seen above and was completed by another Italian street artist, Massimo Mion. His work shows a boy playing the game Battleship, but above the image is the title “European Programme for Migration”. Mion’s work critiques the attitude of aloofness or rejection that has permeated some members of the European Union regarding the dire situation the refugees face. While art is incapable of providing answers for how to deal with difficult issues, works such as these three remind people that the issue exists and needs to be addressed as human lives are at stake.

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Aesthetics of Migration

Street Art in the Mediterranean Border Zones is an essay by Nahrain Al-Mousawi posted online by Ibraaz on January 22, 2015 at http://www.ibraaz.org/essays/116.

This essay details several works of art in cities on both sides of the Mediterranean depicting the refugee crisis. Al-Mousawi discusses not only the works themselves, but also the contexts in which they are situated. His article delves into the debates and theories surrounding borders and bordering practices. 

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Have you have wondered how Europe looks from the outside? It looks like a huge electrified triple fence decorated with barbed wire. That is how it looks like in Melilla, a Spanish colony in Africa

Blu regarding his work in Melilla

This quotation comes from Nahrain Al-Mousawi’s essay “Aesthetics of Migration: Street Art in Mediterranean Border Zones”. Blu is an Italian street artist who painted the below image in Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Morocco. This image of the wall mural, as well as a close up which serves as the background of this exhibit, come from Paolo Veloria’s article on Frank at http://frank151.com/street-artists-paint-refugee-crisis/. Blu’s wall mural furthermore was the impetus for this exhibit. The painting satirizes the European Union’s flag by replacing its stars with barbs. Additionally, the flag’s blue field has been replaced by a sea of people looking inward towards the clear blue inside the circle of barbs. As Blu says, this work attempts to depict how refugees view the European Union as a region of peace and opportunity that is not open to them. They have to put themselves through an incredibly difficult and dangerous journey in order to reach Europe and escape their already dire situations. What this mural possibly fails to account for is that even after those lucky enough to gain entry arrive in Europe, they will continue to be confronted by barriers of hate speech, racism, prejudice, and violence.