Station 5

Via Dolorosa (Way of Grief) (detail), ash, clay, copper, graphite, earth, olive wood, silver, wine, 100cm x 278cm. Photograph by Joe Tareha.

As a pilgrim travelling along the path, when you stop at the Chapel of Simon, you are standing in between the house of the poor man and the rich man. The gulf between Lazarus and Dìves is infinite, especially if the world is seen from a privileged cultural perspective. Christ gave a voice to the poor, the displaced, and the outcast. ‘Borders’ are ideological constructions; however for many they are a palpable divide between life and death. At the present moment, there are 59.5 million refugees seeking asylum across the globe: equivalent to 1/3 of the Australian population.

Some say that Simon was transformed as he witnessed Christ’s suffering. This work asks the viewer to reflect on being in the world.  What legacy will you leave? Will the world be a better place for having known you? Caught up in a capitalist system; the value of a life is measured by riches and status. It is up to the people to instigate change, as many have done, and continue to do, offering sanctuary and empathy, while governments relocate, distract and flounder. 

Each drop - the Blood of Christ - represents one of the 10,000 missing children, and a beating heart.