Limbo. He is ‘Waiting…’

Julia Charles

This event has concluded

Dates: 19700101

Hours: Mon-Fri 10-5, Sat 12-4

Entry Fee: Free

Exhibition Event:

Official Opening 30/04/2015 6:00 pm

Artist Talk 02/05/2015 4:00 am

Julia Charles is a Melbourne born, now Sydney based photographer. Her background is in art & design. In this series she is shifting her focus on to a pressing social issue facing our Nation today, that of asylum seekers. ‘Waiting…’ explores the experiences of a young Afghan man, ‘Amir’, who was forced to flee his homeland due to the nature of his work. He was a University educated Theatre Director and Film Maker focussing on equal rights for women. He was threatened by religious extremists who opposed his liberal, humane thinking. They killed his cousin and threatened him and his colleagues. After escaping through Iran, he finally found himself on a leaky boat from Indonesia to Australia which sank on the fourth night. 98 people had set out together. Nine died. They were lost at sea in there middle of the night, in 15m waves. He was the last person rescued. This was nearly two years ago. He has been in Detention Centres and now lives in Sydney’s western suburbs. According to his Bridging Visa he cannot work or study. All he must do is wait for his claim for asylum to be processed and try hard not to succumb to the black dog of depression and feelings of hopelessness brought on by this Limbo. He is ‘Waiting…’.

Official Opening