This is another project assigned by the uni. Graphic design students collaborating with illustration students to product artistic responses to a given poem. In our team, the poem is Thousand by Brian McCabe.
You have read the paper too you know
the story of the thousand forced to flee
their disputed region through no doubt
the thousand called it something else
such as home for example here
no it did not say what forced them
nor whether they were forced to go
together towards the same unknown
or to scatter as insects scatter
when their stone is lifted I imagine
they had time to round up the kids
take their old if not infirm maybe
a cherished horse a particular goat
the dogs would no doubt follow
after all they were the thousand
and would pack what food they had
a bag of apples tipped from a bowl
a live chicken maybe a t.v. dinner
what about the t.v. what about the radio
leave them what have they done for us
take that amulet this certificate
those plates cups spoons a good knife
whatever can be crammed into the pram
on the roof rack in the wheelbarrow
it won’t be much it won’t be much
our time is short our warning brief
we ourselves don’t know where to go
and the question how to get here
will have to be answered on the way
we must flee and keep on fleeing
until the day you open your doors
and find us standing there and say
you must be the thousand come in
we have read about you take a seat
stay here make yourselves at home
until you get your disputed region back
that doesn’t happen though does it
we have read the paper too we know
the story of the thousand forced to flee
their disputed region through no doubt
the thousand called it something else
such as home for example here
no it did not say what forced them
nor whether they were forced to go
together towards the same unknown
or to scatter as insects scatter
when their stone is lifted I imagine
they had time to round up the kids
take their old if not infirm maybe
a cherished horse a particular goat
the dogs would no doubt follow
after all they were the thousand
and would pack what food they had
a bag of apples tipped from a bowl
a live chicken maybe a t.v. dinner
what about the t.v. what about the radio
leave them what have they done for us
take that amulet this certificate
those plates cups spoons a good knife
whatever can be crammed into the pram
on the roof rack in the wheelbarrow
it won’t be much it won’t be much
our time is short our warning brief
we ourselves don’t know where to go
and the question how to get here
will have to be answered on the way
we must flee and keep on fleeing
until the day you open your doors
and find us standing there and say
you must be the thousand come in
we have read about you take a seat
stay here make yourselves at home
until you get your disputed region back
that doesn’t happen though does it
we have read the paper too we know
Basically the poem is taking us through the journey of refugees running away from home. They have to leave a lot of their belongings behind and forced to flee with the tiny hope they have of finding a new home.
Second Project | Outdoor Intervention
For the second response, we have decided to make a giant poster using newspaper as the canvas which was mentioned a lot in the poem. Then we used a red door to symbolise the home/location of refugees (read about the crisis here). We also made stickers with lines from the poem to lead our audience towards where the poster is stuck. |
Third Project | Artists' Book
For the artists' book, we have created a box to contain the book with objects collected on the street to represent the objects refugees would come across on their way to finding their new home. The logo on the book cover merges letter T and a door together. Paper cutouts are present in the book to emphasise the motion of 'fleeing'. |