Jamil Yamani

Campbelltown Arts Centre
The Glittering City| 11 May –1 July 2007

The Glittering City identifies departure as the final, common thread that is stitched into the fabric of an asylum seeker’s life.

To source content for the two screens that make up The Glittering City I visited Kakuma, the largest transitional habitation site in the world. At the time of my visit the camp had a stable population of approximately 25,000 people. However, during civil conflict in neighbouring countries, this can swell to 400,000 people. ‘Legal’ asylum seekers usually make their applications from Kakuma. As such, this temporary city becomes like a large holding tank full of people trying to get somewhere else. Many would prefer to return home provided that they and their families are safe from harm.

The second screen in The Glittering City includes content that I filmed from a Beechcroft twin engine aircraft. Vibration from the aircraft compromised the footage, but after reviewing the material, I realised that it was consistent with my ideas of re-presenting the quintessential Australian home. In this, I am trying to dislocate the viewer from their familiar surroundings and re-place them in new and unfamiliar contexts.

When a ship comes to shore ‘legally’, it is guided in by a lighthouse, a beacon of safety. Up until recently, Australia was considered by many refugees to be a beacon. The Ruddock immigration era changed that. It led a campaign that branded ‘non legal’ refugees as diseased criminals and economic miscreants. The structure that I have built for The Glittering City symbolises a lighthouse beam.