Back to index of Nerve 22 - Summer 2013

Artist Profile - Legofesto

"Using actual photographs taken by soldiers posted in Abu Ghraib prison, images and detainee and eye witness testimony from Guantanamo Bay, Lebanon, Iraq, Gaza, and elsewhere, real events of barbarity, torture and war are recreated in LEGO.

I want to draw attention to what was going on in the War On Terror: how blithely our governments ignored the Geneva Conventions against torture, our media happy to use the euphemisms of "harsh interrogation" even when presented with evidence of detainees illegally kidnapped and tortured to death by our governments. How quietly people accepted state-sponsored illegal acts, be it torture, rendition or the war in Iraq.

The use of a toy, and such a recognisable one at that, represents something of a paradox. Obviously LEGO, a symbol of innocent play brings back happy childhood memories, yet in my sculptures it is used to represent torture and human rights abuses. This creates an uneasy contrast, using the visual language of play to depict the realities of conflict. There is a tension between what you see and what is depicted. The toy becomes a metaphor for the news, subverting its original, innocent status. Maintaining the veracity of the reconstructions is essential for the integrity of the work, so only events which are photographed or otherwise documented from first hand accounts are reproduced in LEGO.

As an artist I aim to raise and provoke debate about really serious issues affecting us, because what we do in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere does affect us all; our actions have consequences for others and ourselves. If we silently acquiesce to torture, what have we, as people, become?

Later in 2013 several pieces will be in an exhibition entitled "War & Trauma" in Belgium; previously I've exhibited in America and UK."

Legofesto blog: http://legofesto.blogspot.com
Flickr Photostream: www.flickr.com/photos/legofesto
YouTube Mashup: www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_iqOasev8c

Images of Darfur, Sri Lanka, Dr David Kelly:

Printer friendly page

Comments are closed on this article