Artist Talk: Looking for Paradise

Join us in the Community Gallery at the Museum at Inveresk for an artist talk with the inspiring team behind QVMAG's new exhibition,

Artist Nathalie Hartog-Gautier and film producer Navid Bahadori will speak about the messages behind the exhibition, the social commentary it creates and the process of developing the featured works.

Looking for Paradise brings the stories of refugees to the centre page through hand drawn, handmade books and video animation.

Artist Nathalie Hartog- Gautier's work looks at past and present policies that different Australian governments instigated to help or deny entry to people in need of a ‘safe haven’.

Navid Bahadori (Executive Producer of Broken Yellow Productions) collaborated with Nathalie to create an animation that brings to life her printed work.

The accompanying video gathers designs and motifs across the 12 books that compile Gautier-Hartog’s work.

The animation is set to a reading of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights by real people seeking asylum, and made with the assistance of the Asylum Seekers Centre.

Their voices humanise the story told by the imagery, further highlighting Australia’s responsibility as a first signatory of the United Nations Human Rights Charter.

The exhibition continues the exploration of the persistent themes in the work; the notion of Australia as paradise, the pursuit of this paradise, and the inexplicable impact Australia’s immigration policies throughout the years have had on those undertaking this pursuit.