While photographing refugees in France, Belgium, Austria, and Sweden in 2018, Alan Gignoux noticed that a recurring theme among them was the gradual erosion of self, resulting from prolonged periods of living in limbo at the fringes of society.

In the UK, people seeking asylum similarly endure extended periods of uncertainty while awaiting a response to their applications. Unable to work, they may endure poverty or destitution, poor physical and mental health, and even internment in a detention centre. If their application is rejected, they must come to terms with not only the wasted years but also the frightening prospect of being forced to return to a country that they risked all to leave. Those who remain in the UK after their asylum application has been rejected face an uncertain and insecure future, entirely dependent on the support of family, friends, and charitable organisations.

To create a visual metaphor for the corrosive impact of the asylum process on individuals, Gignoux worked with a camera obscura using a long exposure to blur the identity of the refugees whom he photographed while leaving the background in focus. Seeking to include the refugees’ voices in the project, he invited the people whom he photographed, as well as other refugees who wanted to participate, to write a creative response to the blurred portraits in writing workshops.

Exhibition-in-a-book

Intended for display in libraries and schools across the UK during Refugee Week 2023 and beyond to raise awareness of issues affecting asylum seekers, “You can see me, but I don’t exist” has been designed as an exhibition-in-a-book. It is presented in a binder with installation suggestions and can be returned to the binder at the end of the exhibition to be experienced as a book.

The exhibition-in-a-book includes refugee portraits by Alan Gignoux, poems written by refugees in response to the portraits, an introductory essay about the asylum process in the UK by policy researcher Woodren Brade, suggestions on how to install the exhibition, suggestions for writing workshop prompts, an A2 foldout poster with the exhibition title.

A limited number of the books are being made available for sale to support the project. The remainder will be sent to libraries and schools for their use, free of charge.

The project and exhibition are sponsored by a National Lottery Project Grant awarded by Arts Council England.