Artists work together to combat the world-wide trade in human misery

Aug 31 2007 by Lizzie Houghton, Liverpool Daily Post

THE white walls of Liverpool’s Open Eye Gallery do not seem quite as modern or clean as they are probably meant to. In fact, at the moment, the whole place feels more like the white cells of St George’s Hall than a modern art gallery.

This isn’t to say that the current exhibition isn’t thought- provoking and deeply moving, it is, I mean simply to comment on the fact that the images and films on display all depict scenes you would more likely expect to find in a history book, not a modern-day art gallery.

Bound, which will run until October 20, is an exhibition of contemporary work from a number of different artists which explores the issue of slavery today.

Current estimates are that today at least 12m men, women and children worldwide are being forced to work through violence, intimidation and blackmail.

They are denied the basic freedoms so many of us take for granted: dehumanised and treated as property to be bought and sold.

And this 200 years after the Slave Trade Abolition Act started a movement that would eventually see slavery made illegal under international law. One person who knows all about the historical and recent implications of slavery is Rachel Wilberforce, the great-great- granddaughter of abolitionist William Wilberforce.

The 32-year-old specialises in photography, video art and live art intervention.

Having grown up in South Africa during the apartheid years, Rachel has witnessed man’s capacity for inhumanity towards man.

“It’s a subject very close to my heart,” she explains. “I conceived the project about a year and a half ago and started to work with organisations such as Amnesty International, focusing on modern-day slavery and human trafficking.

“I’d wanted to do something like this for a long time and I felt that, with the bicentenary, it was a fitting time to do it. But I want it to be an ongoing project, not just focusing on this year but looking to the future as well.”

The exhibition chronicles a whole range of human emotions. Many of the artists who have taken part are exiles in their native countries and have shown extraordinary bravery to capture the images.

The most striking piece is a film by American Palestinian artist Emily Jacir, who was forced to hide her camera in her handbag after having her previous one confiscated by the Israeli army.

“I think there’s still a general ignorance about this sort of thing, especially in the West,” continues Rachel, who lives in London.

“The 200-year celebration helped to raise awareness of modern-day bondage a bit, especially with all the news interest, but one of the problems with news coverage is that people tend to switch off or turn over. Art just gives the subject another platform.

“One of the problems is that, unlike 200 years ago, this sort of thing is no longer a visible part of life. By its very nature, it tends to be hidden. I think for some people the thought that this is still going on is truly shocking.

“Sex trafficking is the main one these days, or at least the one most in the minds of the public, but there are a lot of other forms of exploitation that people don’t even think of. Hotel work, for example, and catering. Domestic labour is also a very big problem. And it’s not just adults but children as well and it’s happening in the UK.

“The aim of the show is to give a different view of modern-day slavery, to make people think. I wanted to recognise the efforts of the many abolitionists 200 years ago, but highlight the fact that, unfortunately, slavery is still going on today.”

The tragedy of modern-day forced labour is that many of the victims are simply trying to forge a better life for themselves than they could possibly have in their place of origin. In trying to escape poverty, they run straight into the arms of people who exploit them mercilessly.

Patrick Henry, the director of the Open Eye Gallery, explains: “The idea of the exhibition is about posing the question of whether slavery is a thing of the past or whether we can still find things that actually aren’t so far removed from slavery or enslavement in our contem-porary world.”

Patrick, who has been director of the gallery for 3½ years, has been pleased with the reaction to the show, although he understands that it’s not for everyone.

“The reaction has been very good,” he says. “It’s not a campaigning exhibition, it’s a contemporary art show. It is very conceptual and some people can find that difficult, especially if you’re not used to looking at exhibitions like this. There’s a particular way of thinking you have to get into.

“It’s not a straightforward photography exhibition, but I think anyone who spends a bit of time in the gallery, picks up the information, and just has a look at the works, will find that they're actually quite accessible.

“I think, as a whole, art asks more questions than it answers,” Patrick adds.

“I think people will walk away questioning the idea that slavery has gone and belongs to the solely to the past. What we should be thinking about when we think about those histories is the present, the future and the responsibility we have for them.”

* BOUND is at the Open Eye Gallery until October 20.