10 Land escape
19
‘Being creative in our workshops connects us, making art gives my mind a rest, it helps me tell my story. I am at peace for that time.’ Thok Thor Koang – Mystart student, Kakuma refugee camp Teaching in the desert has its challenges; it is a hostile terrain where it is difficult to sustain life. Everything has a thorn. There is also incredible beauty and solace and, in ways, if you know how to look, this can be true of almost anywhere. Kakuma is the Swahili word for Nowhere. Kakuma refugee camp sits in the Turkana desert in NW Kenya and, at time of writing, it has been there for almost 30 years and is the fourth biggest camp in the world. The average refugee stays in Kakuma for 19 years. Every day is a struggle for the people living here; it is a place where everyone has suffered deep trauma and hope is easily lost. Yet, there is still love and hope, courage, aspiration and dreams; much of this is fuelled by solidarity set within a strong community structure. People in Kakuma are very connected to each other and to the landscape they inhabit. When the community structure breaks down the terrain quickly closes in with its full weight of hostility.
Connecting or reconnecting with the world around you involves taking time to observe it, appreciate it, experience it, fear it. Then allow it to fill your senses. Begin this task by simply observing what you can see, hear, feel, smell and touch. Connect with your environment using as many of your senses as you can. You are not attempting to create a photographic representation, rather a ‘sense of place’. You can make rubbings, sketches and even write notes. Then move onto collaging a landscape – build layers using coloured paper, masking tape and paint; create a loose landscape based on the environment you are exploring, capturing the mood and atmosphere as much as simplified forms. Then build on the collage with materials you have perhaps collected or have at home. Let your landscape take on the character of the world that you are a part of. At this stage, you can inject imagination and memory. If you feel the need, add detail, however, there are no rules, it is your landscape. If you really want to go for it, apply touches of spray paint and neon tape.
Being creative keeps you well
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