Home, 2009
Warsan Shire, British Somali, born Kenya 1988
no one leaves home unless
home is the mouth of a shark.
you only run for the border
when you see the whole city
running as well.
Refugees Series, 2017/18, scrap metal, steel.
Ginane Makki Bacho, born Beirut, Lebanon, 1947
your neighbours running faster
than you, the boy you went to school with
who kissed you dizzy behind
the old tin factory is
holding a gun bigger than his body,
you only leave home when home
won’t let you stay.
Refugees Series, 2017/18, scrap metal, steel.
Ginane Makki Bacho, born Beirut, Lebanon, 1947
no one would leave home
unless home chased you, fire under feet,
hot blood in your belly.
Exodus VI; bronze
Ginane Makki Bacho, born Beirut, Lebanon, 1947.
Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, NY in 2018/19
it’s not something you ever thought of doing
until the blade burnt threats into
your neck
and even then you carried the anthem under
your breath
only tearing up your passport in an airport toilet
sobbing as each mouthful of paper
made it clear that you wouldn’t be going back.
Exodus VI; bronze
Ginane Makki Bacho, born Beirut, Lebanon, 1947.
Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, NY in 2018/19
You have to understand,
no one puts their children in a boat
unless the water is safer than the land.
Untitled, 1984; India ink on turpentine-treated, smooth, medium weight, transparent wove paper.
Giuseppe Penone, Italian born 1947. Philadelphia Art Museum
no one burns their palms
under trains
beneath carriages
no one spends days and nights in the stomach of a truck
feeding on newspaper unless the miles travelled
means something more than journey.
Damascene Athan, 2017, plaster, paint, found objects.
Mohamad Hafez, Syrian born 1984. Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, NY in 2018/19
no one crawls under fences
no one wants to be beaten
pitied
Damascene Athan, 2017, plaster, paint, found objects.
Mohamad Hafez, Syrian born 1984. Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, NY in 2018/19
no one chooses refugee camps
or strip searches where your
body is left aching or prison,
because prison is safer
than a city of fire
and one prison guard
in the night
is better than a truckload
of men who look like your father
no one could take it
no one could stomach it
no one skin would be tough enough
Sacrifice, 2014, bronze and found wooden object.
Nick Cave, American born 1959. Private collection on loan to the Solomon R. Guggenheim, NY in 2022
the
go home blacks
refugees
dirty immigrants
asylum seekers
sucking our country dry
niggers with their hands out
they smell strange
Sacrifice, 2014, bronze and found wooden object.
Nick Cave, American born 1959. Private collection on loan to the Solomon R. Guggenheim, NY in 2022
savage
messed up their country and now they want
to mess ours up
how do the words
the dirty looks
roll off your backs
maybe because the blow is softer
than a limb torn off
Bagage Series 4, 2016, plaster, paint, antique suitcase, found objects.
Mohamad Hafez, Syrian born 1984. Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, NY in 2018/19
or the words are more tender
than fourteen men between
your legs
or the insults are easier
to swallow
than rubble
than bone
than your child body
in pieces.
Bagage Series 4, 2016, plaster, paint, antique suitcase, found objects.
Mohamad Hafez, Syrian born 1984. Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, NY in 2018/19
i want to go home,
but home is the mouth of a shark
home is the barrel of the gun
and no one would leave home
unless home chased you to the shore
unless home told you
to quicken your legs
leave your clothes behind
crawl through the desert
wade through the oceans
drown
save
be hunger
beg
forget pride
your survival is more important
Bagage Series 4, 2016, plaster, paint, antique suitcase, found objects.
Mohamad Hafez, Syrian born 1984. Exhibited at the Brooklyn Museum, NY in 2018/19
no one leaves home until home is a sweaty voice in your ear
saying-
leave,
run away from me now
Untitled, 2021, perforated inkjet print.
Idalia Vasquez-Achury, born Colombia 1973. Loaned by the artist to the Woodmere Art Museum in 2022
i dont know what i’ve become
but i know that anywhere
is safer than here
Untitled, 2021, perforated inkjet print.
Idalia Vasquez-Achury, born Colombia 1973. Loaned by the artist to the Woodmere Art Museum in 2022