Michelle Hamer
DAY 7423 & THERE IS NO ESCAPE are a pair of works dedicated to all the people with invisible disabilities, chronic health issues, Holocaust survivors who were in hiding and any others who have previously experienced ongoing isolation. While new experiences for so many, the fear, grief, uncertainty and precariousness of life is ever present for these communities; it is largely unseen and will continue beyond this global effort whereby the isolation whilst challenging is actually about being positively part of a global community action.
This is not my first isolation. My art practice emerged from a period of extended isolation due to invisible disabilities/chronic health issues my supports are incompatible with isolation. Every minute of every day I am choosing community and self/family protection over my own increasing pain.
My father is a Holocaust survivor. At age 4 he was isolated, alone in a cupboard, not allowed to speak all day, with no family around, later he was hidden in an oven. This is not my family’s first isolation.