Scattered 2 Ethnoscape, scapegoat

ERNA BODENSTEIN: ARTIST STATEMENT FOR EXHIBITION “-SCAPES” 

Ethnoscapes and scapegoats

The notion of”-scape” refers to a concept by Arjun Appadurai describing a dimension of global cultural flows. With ethnoscapes being most direct, depicting the landscapes of moving peoples for instance (legal and illegal) immigrants and refugees. The movement of ethnic groups and cultural elements often become a source of social tension particularly when combined with political rhetoric that scapegoats migrants and refugees for economic and social problems. It is often the case that ethnic groups from African countries or brown skinned migrants and refugees in general, are prone to be specifically ‘othered’ and viewed with suspicion. The three works submitted for this show are suitable to be reframed to represent a layer of interpretation pertaining to the notion of the referenced “scapes”. The titles of the works are respectively “Scattered 1”, Scattered 2” and “Scattered 3 “. Scattered 1 and 2, were originally installed side by side but for this exhibition I am grouping them as a triptych with the work showing brown babies in the middle, but each work can stand alone from the others as well. The ‘pale’ babies can be seen to be ‘scattering’ away from the perceived ‘threat’ of the brown babies. The falling brown babies are representing both ethnoscapes and scapegoats. They are a in state of metaphorical limbo and their situation may influence the fragmentation of their identities, exposing reinforced inequalities and othering as migrants. This description is but one layer of interpretation of the ‘meaning’ of the work as the ‘’meaning’ and interpretation of an artwork is ultimately influenced by the viewer.