Forced leasure

In 2014, Sha Sawari worked as an interpreter for a detention centre on Manus Island. Forced Leisure is a direct response to his time spent on the Island surrounded by the Indian Ocean. During this time, Sawari felt it was like a “sick joke” to situate people seeking asylum in a rundown and crowded space surrounded by a paradise-like place.

This work speaks of the Australian Government’s shameless demonstration and abuse of power and resources that affects thousands of refugees annually. Locked up in both offshore and onshore detentions around Australia, refugees’ lives are spent in limbo, not knowing when will they experience freedom.