Patrick Willocq

The Art of Survival, a commission for international charity Save the Children, has been produced in collaboration with refugee communities, depicting what it’s really like to be a refugee child. This series goes beyond the usual news reportage imagery of refugee crisis, bringing a fresh approach to humanitarian story telling. The 8 elaborately staged scenes bear witness to the hopes, fears and challenges faced by Burundian children seeking refuge in Tanzania, and Syrian children who have fled to Lebanon. It explores past memories, present-day realities and dreams for the future. I worked with communities in Tanzania’s Nyarugusu refugee camp and Anjar informal settlement, in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley to co-create visual representation of their stories. The communities helped to build the large decorative sets, using mostly materials found in the camp. By using recycled humanitarian materials, I tried to turn symbols of loss and displacement into a canvass for children to express themselves. I wanted the artistic feel to be colourful, naïve and surreal. Almost like a play or fairy tale for adults, created by children. Captions example image #5, "The Mountain journey": Children in Tanzania’s Nyarugusu refugee camp re-enact crossing the mountains of Burundi on foot to seek refuge. Iveye, 6, is pictured on the far left carrying her 18-month-old sister, Rebecca, on her back. It took the siblings and their family five days to travel from their home to Tanzania, and the journey was far from easy. image #8, "Doctor Malaria": Malaria is one of the camp’s greatest killers. When Anicet grows up, he wants to be a malaria doctor. In this image, he practices his dream job while his friends act as patients and mosquitoes.“I want to be a doctor so that I can help people, make a difference and save lives,” said Anicet. “This would make me a very important person and it would help me get something in my life.”