We are pleased to announce the Winner of the LSA Student Award 2022:
Kaye Axon
BA in Fine Art, De Montfort University, Leicester (Year 1)
The winning design by Kaye Axon conveys the artist's feelings of sadness at the migration of people caused by war, economics, weather and political dictates, as well as the fear and trepidation of the migrants themselves. The work was created by Kaye Axon, incorporating work by assylum seekers who took part in a community workshop for the project in Leicester.
Growing up, Axon remembers the sadness of friend's families who had been forced to leave Uganda, often with only a small suitcase, due to the forcible eviction of Asians by Idi Amin. Many of the older familiy members were deeply traumatised by the enforced move and struggled to re-establish friend and family connections.
She reflects the worry that forced migration could be imposed on anyone, by deliberately keeping the figures vague. The figures in the boat push to the outer edges of the design because Axon wants to show that most people are pushed to migrate. The waves contain the colours of the Ukranian flag. Migration is still an issue today with hundreds getting into dangerous boats fleeing poverty, intimidation or war across the Mediterranean and Channel as well as arriving by 'safer' routes and claiming asylum at our ports and airports.
The bold reds, yellow and black within the explosion reflect the colours of the Ugandan flag lost to those evicted in the 1970's and the orange the subsequent merging of cultures upon their arrival within the United Kingdom. The colours within the design are bounded by a clear black line, indicating the separation from friends, family, culture and home felt by many migrants.
Kaye Axon has just completed her first year studying Fine Art at De Montfort University and lives in Leicester.