Portfolio
Temporary Haven Install
Curatorial Statement
Samuel Nnorom: Temporary Havens
In the heart of the university landscape, “Temporary Havens” is a powerful exploration of modern bordering and migration encounters. This public installation artwork features three white flag poles representing world peace and three hundred and ninety vibrant coloured mosquito nets, systematically organized to represent the refugee shelters and organizations that have a stake within refugee shelters and camps, invite viewers to engage with the complex realities faced by migrants, refugees, and internally displaced persons in our contemporary world.
The mosquito net, a symbol of protection in malaria-prone regions, takes on new meaning in this context. These nets create a labyrinth of barriers, simultaneously offering shelter and imposing confinement. This duality is a metaphor for the nature of borders themselves as structures that both safeguard and restrict, protect and entrap. The deliberate use of mosquito nets evokes the urgency of the ongoing battle against malaria, a health crisis that disproportionately affects vulnerable populations living in unhealthy environments.
Also, the translucent quality of the nets creates visible yet intangible boundaries, much like the invisible social, economic, and digital barriers that often impede integration and movement in our modern world.
“Temporary Havens” celebrates the resilience of migrants while highlighting their vulnerabilities. This installation invites viewers to reflect on the transient nature of safety and belonging in our increasingly interconnected yet divided world.
Curated by Ugonna Ibekwe
Artist statement
Nets seem to me a socio-political thread woven in weft and warp through which the society is guided and caught. More so, nets lends it metaphors like protection, livelihood, trap, boundaries, and transatlantic connections, which suggest the form and idea of seawater, splash, drowning, ripple effects, and exchange.
However, in this project, I was interested in mosquito nets to create an immersive experience that captures the transient and precarious existence of IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) in region where they are insecurity, war, immigrants and refugees by creating a shelter and safe space that reignites hopes and safety. Using bright colours to create an illusion of a garden as an element suggests of playfulness, joy and calmness.
I hope the audience finds deeper connection within themselves as they are encouraged to sit or lay down under the mosquito net tent as a way of contemplating and reflecting upon personal and global issues.
