An exhibition of photographs by Adrian Arbib

Representation and Displacement, an exhibition of photographs by the Oxford-based human rights and environment photographer Adrian Arbib, opens at The Jam Factory gallery on 5 February. The show displays a selection of Arbib’s photographs taken in Rwanda, Sudan, Indonesia and elsewhere during various assignments for aid agencies and news publications over the past 20 years.

The question of representation remains at the heart of efforts to understand and to influence the human condition. This is an especially acute question for those who find themselves forcibly displaced from state and/or nation. In the absence of political franchise, what kinds of representation are possible for refugees and stateless persons? In the context of dominant national culture, how have displaced persons emerged in media and popular discourse?

Taking the phenomenon of displacement as its point of departure, this exhibition aims to encourage critical re-examination of the question of representation. Organised by The Refugee Studies Centre at the University of Oxford, the exhibition is linked to the research and teaching work of the Centre,

The Refugee Studies Centre, University of Oxford is celebrating 25 years of research, teaching and international outreach in forced migration studies with a diverse programme of academic and cultural events. The RSC’s pioneering role in developing this field and its contribution to improving the lives of some of the world’s most marginalised people has been recognised by the award of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. It remains the pre-eminent centre of its kind.

Exhibition postcard (PDF file 325 KB)