Migrate Art’s Scorched Earth Project: The Exhibition

On Friday 18th September, Migrate Art’s Scorched Earth exhibition was installed at Cork Street Galleries in London. The charity exhibition includes works by contemporary artists made using Scorched Earth oil and acrylic paints. These paints were produced for Migrate by Jackson’s using ash from burnt crops in Iraqi Kurdistan, which were destroyed deliberately by militia groups.

Simon Butler, founder of Migrate Art, spoke to us about the project as the exhibition was being installed:

 

Here is a selection of artworks from the exhibition, made using Scorched Earth paints:
 
 

Antony Gormley

 
 

Raqib Shaw

 

“I was lucky enough to have been part of a generation that didn’t witness the extreme state of unrest in my childhood home of Kashmir. Since independence from Britain, India and Pakistan have disputed the territory of Kashmir for nearly 70 years. Wars between India and Pakistan have centred on Kashmir, there has been armed revolt in the Muslim-majority region against rule by India and the young generation are becoming radicalised. When I think of Kashmir, I think about what has been lost; the place I once knew is now of the past. I could never return. . Whether or not today’s refugees are fleeing from political or economical trouble, I identify with, and have great empathy for the sense of displacement they must feel. The only way I can express my true feelings is through my art – as a means of release and escapism – so I am happy to be contributing to the Migrate project in aid of this worthwhile cause”

– Raqib Shaw

Watch our film of Raqib Shaw in his studio here.
 
 

Mona Hatoum

 
 

Jules de Balincourt

 

“I’m interested in placing the viewer at a crossroad, presenting a duality or binary. In It Depends on What Direction You Look In, are these fireworks of celebration or explosions of oppression? I want to leave the viewer in suspense, wonder, and uncertainty; leaving one to wander.”

-Jules de Balincourt
 
 

Conor Harrington

 
 

Loie Hollowell

 

“When I was approached to take part in Migrate Art’s project, I kept thinking about this intense, primal love that a mother has over her children, how I feel about my two children… I felt inspired to participate because providing safe passage for families and refugees is important work, and I’m honoured to be able to help.”

-Loie Hollowell
 
 

Richard Deacon

 
 

Anish Kapoor

 
 

Walid Siti

 

“Coming from the region and having witnessed what happened to Yazidis through friends and media as well visiting the refugee camps near Duhok in 2018, the cause of this project resonated with my sense of rage, helplessness and the urge to help as an artist. My work increasingly considers the precarious relations between collective identity, interdependence and its constraints on the individual through considerations of heritage, tradition, homes, borders, mobility and migration in general so with this project I’m combining many of these themes within this new work titled Trials.”

– Walid Siti
 

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We’re delighted to say that the Scorched Earth project raised £262,700 for Migrate Art’s charity partners- RefuAid, Refugee Community Kitchen, and The Lotus Flower. This amount was raised through the sale of these artworks at auction, as well as the sale of Scorched Earth oil and acrylic paints at jacksonsart.com. Migrate Art would like to thank our customers who supported the project.
 

Read this blog post to find out how Scorched Earth oil paints were made.