‘The smallest coffins are the heaviest’: Shrouds at Liberty Roundabout serve as a reminder of lives lost

‘Watching bodies on TV and in the news creates apathy…this makes it real’

LAHORE: There is need to remind people about the countless children that die in terrorist attacks throughout the world, Imran Kazmi, a third-year student of fine arts at the National College of Arts, said on Friday.

Kazmi, Armish Imtiaz and Fatima Ali and from the NCA and Wasimullah from CWU Digital Ventures have collaborated on an installation at the Liberty Roundabout showcasing shrouds wrapped around small figures and arranged in a circle.

The idea is to remember innocent lives lost, Kazmi said. “When we remember lives lost in Peshawar, during the Burma refugee crisis, the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kashmir, and in Palestine, deaths of innocent children haunt us more than anything. Primarily because they have no stake or bias towards any group, ideology or religion,” he said.

Kazmi said people usually saw such images on television or read about those. “This creates apathy because it is viewed from a distance.” Viewers tend to watch these images on screen and move on with their daily lives, he said. “We are trying to awaken them to the gravity of the situation and the severity of it all.”

He said that they had decided to display it in a way that it could serve as a reminder to people as they went about their daily lives. “We do not want to disturb people, just remind them that there is conflict happening in the world at the same time,” Kazmi said.

He said the installation was not a political statement or a protest aimed at an individual or a political party. He said it was a statement against violence.

Wasimullah said most people tended to limit their activism against violence and terrorism on social media. He said the installation aimed to bring those concerns out of virtual space.

The installation generated diverse reactions from the public. A rickshaw driver said for a minute he had thought that they were actual bodies and yet another violent incident had taken place.

However, most people were curious about the work and stopped to enquire about its purpose.

The installation was on display at Liberty Roundabout from 4pm till 8pm. Kazmi said if they received a positive response and if they got permission from the authorities, they would display it at other public places as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2015.