Photo: Art Refuge Process shot taken in L’accueil de jour de Calais, Secours Catholique
Digital Shadows 01-04 were made one sunny afternoon in June 2019 with a group of refugee men who were accessing mobile phone charging points, hospitality and shelter at Secours Catholique's day centre in Calais, northern France. Working in the outdoor courtyard using the cyanotype process, personal objects were placed on pre-sensitised paper and exposed to sunlight for 3-4 minutes, leaving shadows which were fixed when washed out by water. The immediate alchemy drew together a number of men who co-created the works with objects central to their survival such as their mobile phones. Cyanotype was discovered in 1842 making it one of the earliest processes to fix a photographic image. Digital Shadows 01-04 were made during Art Refuge's programme of delivery and the cyanotype process led by artist Miriam Nabarro. Established as a charity in 2006, Art Refuge offers specialist art and art therapy spaces to people who have been displaced due to war, persecution and poverty, both while in transit and once they have reached their destination. Working in Calais from 2015-20, its team of art therapists and visual artists, including those with lived experience as refugees, developed innovative, imaginative ways to work collaboratively with refugees living in transit on the France-UK border and facing ongoing exposure to hostility and homelessness.
Photo: Audrey Laurans
Digital Shadows 01-04
[mobile devices, chargers, charging block, cables, personal belongings]
Artists - A group of refugee men, Miriam Nabarro and Art Refuge Location - L’accueil du jour de Calais, Secours Catholique Technique – Cyanotype 760mm x 1120mm; 300 gsm BFK Rives paper
Date - June 28, 2019
In 2020 Digital Shadows 1-4 were acquired for the permanent collection of Experimental Photography, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris
Photo Miriam Nabarro
Digital Shadows 02
[mobile devices, chargers, charging block]
Artists - A group of refugee men, Miriam Nabarro and Art Refuge
Location - L’accueil du jour de Calais, Secours Catholique
Technique – Cyanotype
Size and Paper - 760mm x 1120mm; 300 gsm BFK Rives paper
Date - June 28, 2019
Digital Shadows 03
[mobile phone, bag, typewriter, pen, watch, truck]
Artists - A group of refugee men, Miriam Nabarro and Art Refuge
Location - L’accueil du jour de Calais, Secours Catholique
Technique – Cyanotype
Size and Paper - 760mm x 1120mm; 300 gsm BFK Rives paper
Date - June 28, 2019
Digital Shadows 04
[cable]
Artists - A group of refugee men, Miriam Nabarro and Art Refuge
Location - L’accueil du jour de Calais, Secours Catholique
Technique – Cyanotype
Size and Paper - 760mm x 1120mm; 300 gsm BFK Rives paper
Date - June 28, 2019