Christal
Cooper
Article
– 673 Words
Guest
Blogger Micheline Montgomery
The Voiceless
International news captivates my
interest, especially humanitarian and social issues. The Rana Plaza garment factory disaster in
Bangladesh on April 24, 2013, has affected me deeply. The factory
collapsed killing 1,129 people, mostly women and children, and left as
many injured.
Since the tragedy, I have read countless
articles about the fate of garment workers across the globe. These frequently report harsh, unsafe
conditions and long hours with little-to-no breaks, no emergency exit, and
minute space to accomplish their repetitive work. In addition, many are away from family and
friends. It must be so difficult for
them to develop any sense of identity . . . the workers become “Voiceless.”
These concerns, along with society’s
ignorant bliss as to where and how their clothing is made, led me to reflect
and search how, as an artist, I can help make a contribution. It took me months of trial and error to
arrive at the statement I am making now.
There has since been some headway in
improving conditions for workers, though slow.
Several European and North American businesses have created a coalition
to help and compensate surviving workers, improve their working conditions, and
insist on transparent ethical practices; Joe Fresh, Mountain Equipment Coop,
and Nike are among them. Social media is
also contributing to their increase of public awareness about the origin of our
clothing.
At first, I thought of creating a visual
journal relating events and media comments over a period of time. I even started to select material from my
readings and my studio. After further reflection,
I decided against that idea. As I was
looking around my home studio one morning, my eyes landed on a small accordion
book made of recycled paper fibers . . . something felt right about it.
I started to isolate the main elements I
wanted to highlight in my project, such as the assembly line, the garments, and
the absence of possibility for workers to have a voice. The accordion book has six pages and two
sides, and when opened, it suits the idea of an assembly line. I decided to cut mini paper dresses out of
different materials but in the same size to represent the garment factory and
the “voicelessnesss” of the workers – hence the absence of a body, and even
more so, the head.
I chose a palette of five of my favorite
colors: yellow, orange, red, turquoise,
and white. Warmer colors gave me a
feeling of hope. I made an attempt to
intermingle all the colors in some way on each page, adding small printed
excerpts from articles. The joined pages
helped to achieve the feeling of the anonymity of the workers. For materials, I used everything that supported
my statement: colored and textured
paper, teabag paper, handmade paper, glue, gel, sparkles, paint and ribbon.
I overlapped parts of some of the dresses
with the hope that perhaps the workers made a friend or two in the midst of a
difficult situation. To finish the
project, I made an envelope-like cover with an inner pocket in which I inserted
a brief description of the work. I bound
the envelope with a paper dress and a ribbon in order to keep it together. There is always hope – by untying the ribbon
you can set them free.
It took me four months to complete this
project. What I have gained from the
experience is a better appreciation and understanding of the human
condition. It is up to each one of us to
decide how we can and wish to contribute.
As the Dalai Lama said, “If you
think that you are too small to make a difference, trying sleeping with a
mosquito.”
*Michelin Montgomery is a mixed-media
artist who enjoys various forms of art, from sculpture to large paintings,
hand-painted journals, and sketchbooks.
She also teachers freelance workshops and classes for adults and
children on making art with eco-conscious materials. Micheline presently lives in the Greater
Toronto area.
Photograph
Description And Copyright Information
Photo
1
Micheline
Montgomery
Copyright
granted by Micheline Montgomery
Photo
2
Ariel
view of the building after it’s collapse
CCASA
2.0 Generic License
Photo
3
Board with photos of missing people, posted by relatives.
Photos taken by Sharat Chowdhury, permission obtained from him
for use in Wikipedia under CC attribution.
Attributed
to Sharat Chowdhury
OTRS
and CCA2.5 Generic
Photo
4
Rescuers found yet another survivor.
Photos taken by Sharat Chowdhury, permission obtained from him
for use in Wikipedia under CC attribution.
Attributed
to Sharat Chowdhury
OTRS
and CCA2.5 Generic
Photo
5
Side
view of the collapsed building
Attributed
to Sharat Chowdhury
OTRS
and CCA2.5 Generic
Photo
6
Micheline
Montgomery in her studio
Copyright
granted by Micheline Montgomery
Photo
7, 8, 9, and 10
“Voiceless”
by Micheline Montgomery
Copyright
granted by Micheline Montgomery
Photo
11
January/February/March
2015 magazine cover of ART JOURNALING BY SOMERSET STUDIO in which Micheline
Montgomery’s “Voiceless” originally appeared.
Photo
12 and 13
“The
Voiceless” by Micheline Montgomery
Copyright
granted by Micheline Montgomery
Photo
14
The
Dalia Lama
Fair
Use Under the United States Copyright Law
