Curated by Diana Ali at Art Center Caravel, ARTE.M Association, Funchal, Madeira, Portugal 2024 & Arthall, Victoria, Gozo, Malta 2025

Concept:

We are facing many barriers globally where our identities are being bruised, rejected, and turned away. This leaves a tension for bodies, thoughts, and circumstances to be accepted and co-exist. Artists have been invited to contest and question what it means to face barriers. Often our artworks have been declined from being shown and exhibited. This exhibition gives an opportunity for the art to migrate. There may not be a utopia, but there are ways of overcoming barriers. Imagine the artwork being personified. What would it say if it had freedom of movement, no immigration law, finding asylum and a sense of belonging without being displaced? A fantastic array of international artists come together in one space to question, confront and seek sanctuary through their artwork.

Exhibition information/Flyer:

Exhibition information/Flyer:

UPDATE 2025

In 2024, a majority of the work was detained by the Portuguese customs on the way to be exhibited in Madeira. The artwork did not have a freedom to roam. In 2025, the art hopes to confront crossings and overcome barriers by having the opportunity to be exhibited at Arthall, Malta.

James Mellor (England)

Scar

(Photography, 30 x 42cm)


SCARS

In the realm where art meets sorrow's touch,

A sculpture stands, a tale so much,

Captured in the lens of time,

A poem unfolds, a rhythm in rhyme.

 

"Scars," it whispers through the stone,

A silent symphony, a soul's deep moan.

Photography's gaze, a frozen glance,

Each image speaks, a wounded dance.

 

In statue's grasp, emotions mold,

A tale of stories, silently told.

Sculpture's embrace, a cold caress,

Echoing pain, a silent distress.

 

Painting strokes, a canvas of despair,

Grey and black, the colors wear.

Depression's hues, a somber cloak,

In every stroke, a soul bespoke.

 

Wire pouring forth, like rivers of plight,

A flowing current, in the dim light.

Wounds and scars, in blue and red,

A vivid palette, where emotions tread.

 

Staring at the audience, eyes profound,

Judgment lingers, without a sound.

Mentality etched in every line,

Focus sharp, like a needle's spine.

 

Abyss void, a blackened stage,

Background draped in sorrow's cage.

Expression dark, a look so deep,

Into the soul, where shadows creep.

 

In this gallery of the mind's abyss,

"Scars" unfurls, a haunting kiss.

Through the lens of art, it pierces far,

A narrative woven, where wounds are scarred.

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