Passion for Freedom

Posted on November 20, 2010 by unit24

Passion for Freedom at Unit 24: 20 November – 27 November 2010
Passion for Freedom – a group show that follows an art competition organized by One Law for All.

The organization campaigns for stopping Sharia courts in Britain which ruling do not abide by the principles of equality enshrined in the UK’s legal system. Whilst religious freedom is a private matter and should be protected, such protection must be subject to the fundamental human rights principles.

International artists who have responded to the theme Passion for Freedom are aware that in our secular society there are individuals, mainly women, deprived of basic human rights. It is an uncomfortable subject that not many dare to discuss in public. It is either for the fear of being called a racist by politically correct establishment or fear of repercussions from radical groups.

The body of work varies in approach to the subject and mediums used. The show’s highlights are:

Maja Wolna, an award winning graphic designer who is presenting three works from the series ‘Behind the Veil’ which won the Gold Medal in the Ideological Poster category at the 22nd Poster Biennale 2010 in Warsaw, Poland. In striking simplicity of her designs she manages to encapsulate the difficulties that women face living in Islamic societies.

Sara Rumis’ text based work Revelations focuses on themes of religious hysteria and the authority of literature. Using small sections from numerous sources of printed text she constructs new pieces from collected words.

Fiona Dent’s paintings confront us with cruelty of female genital mutilation. Only in Britain more than 21,000 girls a year are at risk of FGM and this is despite the UK 2003 FGM Act.

Leszek Dobrucki’s film ‘Little Bride’ nominated at Cannes Film Festival deals with the Turkish minority in Germany. Every year there is at least a dozen of Turkish women beaten to death by their husbands or other family members. The actual scale of those crimes in Germany is not officially estimated. The film tells a story of a Turkish girl sent to Germany and forced to marry when she was 13 years old. After several years of beatings and abuse she managed to escape and now lives in hiding.

Artists exhibiting: Svitlana Grebenyuk, Lee-Anne Raymond, Oslo & Murch, Anna Sundt, Penelope MacEwen, Anna Adamkiewicz, Roberta Coni, Hynek Martinec, Carolina Khouri, Lorella Paleni, Leszek Dobrucki, Fiona Dent, Sara Rumis, Maja Wolna, Barbara Leszczynska

One Law for All (OLFA) is an organisation which promotes equal rights among all members of the British society. It was established in 2007 as a response to the establishment of Muslim Arbitration Tribunals (MATs) in England. MATs rulings is based on Sharia, Islamic law, under which women have just …half of the rights ascribed to men, and as such cannot be accepted in modern democracies. The claim that such tribunals are voluntary is simple a sham as women are often pressured by their relatives into going to these courts and adhering to unfair decision. The ruling based on Sharia law is simply discriminatory, particularly against women and children, and in violation of universal human rights. The organization campaigns for stopping Sharia courts, and promotes civic freedoms and one secular law for all.

www.onelawforall.org.uk
# One Law for All
# OLFA at Unit 24
# Polskie akcenty na wystawie malarstwa przeciwko szariatowi
# Sztuka na zderzeniu kultur