Visual art and global inequality | Aaron Moore

Visual art and global inequality

Aaron Moore

A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Fine Arts

School of Art and Design

UNSW Art and Design

August 2015

Visual art and global inequality | Aaron Moore 2

Contents

Abstract .......................................................................................................................... 5

Chapter 1 | Introduction ................................................................................................. 6 Personal context ...................................................................................................................... 7 Definitions ............................................................................................................................... 8 Art and inequality .................................................................................................................... 9 Thesis structure ...................................................................................................................... 11

Chapter 2 | Methodology ............................................................................................. 13 Redistribution of wealth ........................................................................................................ 13 Awareness and advocacy ....................................................................................................... 18

PART ONE | ONE THING YOU LACK ............................................................................... 26

Chapter 3 | One thing you lack ..................................................................................... 27

Chapter 4 | Influencing artists ...................................................................................... 31 Michael Landy ........................................................................................................................ 31 Neil Boorman ......................................................................................................................... 33 Jasper Joffe ............................................................................................................................ 35 Landy, Boorman and Joffe in the context of global inequality ................................................. 36

Chapter 5 | Art and morality ......................................................................................... 38

Chapter 6 | Moral responses to global inequality ......................................................... 43 Peter Singer ........................................................................................................................... 43 Jesus Christ ............................................................................................................................ 49

Chapter 7 | Addressing global inequality ...................................................................... 54 Performance .......................................................................................................................... 54 Redistribution of wealth ........................................................................................................ 57 Awareness and advocacy ....................................................................................................... 60


PART 2 | THE ART OF GLOBAL INEQUALITY ................................................................... 66

Chapter 8 | Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances ........................................ 67 Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances .................................................................... 67 Influencing artists .................................................................................................................. 69 Global inequality .................................................................................................................... 72

Chapter 9 | The chronicles of everything owned (and sold) & Stuff self ........................ 76 The chronicles of everything owned (and sold) ....................................................................... 76 Stuff self ................................................................................................................................ 77 Influencing artists .................................................................................................................. 78 Global inequality .................................................................................................................... 80

Chapter 10 | The thinker’s chair ................................................................................... 82 The thinker’s chair ................................................................................................................. 82 Influencing artists .................................................................................................................. 84 Global inequality .................................................................................................................... 86

Chapter 11 | Don’t deny us development ..................................................................... 88 Don’t deny us development ................................................................................................... 88 Influencing artists .................................................................................................................. 90 Global inequality .................................................................................................................... 92

Chapter 12 | Those who can’t fly .................................................................................. 96 Asylum and the refugee ......................................................................................................... 97 Those who can’t fly ................................................................................................................ 98 Influencing artists ................................................................................................................ 101 Global inequality .................................................................................................................. 105

Chapter 13 | Conclusion ............................................................................................. 107


Figures ........................................................................................................................ 109

Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 111

Appendix 1 | The drowning child and the expanding circle ......................................... 123

Appendix 2 | Media and public response to ‘One thing you lack’ ................................ 128 Social media | Facebook ...................................................................................................... 128 The Leader ........................................................................................................................... 145 The Art Life .......................................................................................................................... 149 The Sydney Morning Herald ................................................................................................. 150 Bible society ......................................................................................................................... 156 Sorted .................................................................................................................................. 159 Wesley Impact ..................................................................................................................... 170 Bible society ......................................................................................................................... 172


Abstract

This thesis investigates the role of contemporary art in a world of extreme global

inequality. It proposes that visual art can address issues of global inequality firstly through

a practice of redistributing wealth and secondly through the means of awareness and

advocacy. The research comprises various examples of art practice addressing global

inequality including: a performance in which I sell everything I own and give it to the poor

as an expression of philosophical and theological moral teachings on the subject; a video

installation capturing the voices of both Australian’s and Zambian’s giving different

perspectives on wealth and poverty; works that investigate consumerism and the link

between our identity and our possessions; and a video piece that examines inequalities in

the right to freedom of movement and asylum. The thesis concludes that art practice

holds great potential for addressing the exacerbating issues of global inequality, a context

the art world should intentionally seek to inhabit to a greater degree both for the sake of

the vulnerable and for the sake of creating powerful and meaningful art.


Chapter 1 | Introduction

Extreme global inequalities occurring today threaten to exclude hundreds of millions of

people from realizing the benefits of their talents and hard work.1 Oxfam reported that

the 85 richest people in the world now share a combined wealth equal to that of the 3.5

billion poorest2 and that the wealth of the one percent richest people in the world

amounts to $110 trillion, 65 times the total wealth of the bottom half of the world’s

population.3 This trend towards greater inequality only appears to continue. In fact, Oxfam

predicts that by 2016, the richest one percent will own more than the rest of the world.4

Meanwhile, around 1 billion people continue to live in extreme poverty, earning less than

$1.25 a day.5 An estimated 19,000 children die each day -‐ 13 each minute -‐ from largely

preventable diseases like malnutrition and diarrhoea.6 And nearly 750 million people can’t

access adequate drinking water.7 The lives of billions of people therefore stand to be

saved or dramatically changed if this inequality can be addressed.

Can art have an impact upon these sombre daily challenges? This thesis investigates

means by which art can be used to address issues of global inequality. This introduction

provides a personal context to my art practice in addressing the issue of inequality.

1 R Fuentes-‐Nieva & N Glasso, ‘Working for the few: political capture and economic inequality’, Oxfam, 20 January 2014, p. 1 retrieved on 2 April 2015 from https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bp-‐working-‐for-‐few-‐political-‐capture-‐economic-‐inequality-‐200114-‐summ-‐en.pdf 2 G Weardon, ‘Oxfam: 85 richest people as wealthy as poorest half of the world’, The Guardian, 20 January 2014, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jan/20/oxfam-‐85-‐richest-‐people-‐half-‐of-‐the-‐world 3 R Fuentes-‐Nieva & N Glasso, op. cit. p. 2

4 ‘Richest 1% to own more than the rest of the world, Oxfam says’, BBC Business, 19 January 2015, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-‐30875633 5 ‘Ending extreme poverty’, The World Bank, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/global-‐monitoring-‐report/report-‐card/twin-‐goals/ending-‐extreme-‐poverty 6 ‘Millennium development goals -‐ reduce child mortality’, UNICEF, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.unicef.org/mdg/index_childmortality.htm 7 ‘Press release: World water day: nearly 750 million people still without adequate drinking water’, UNICEF, New York, 20 March 2015, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.unicef.org/media/media_81329.html


Secondly, it gives definitions to the major terms of this thesis. It then proposes two key

means by which art practice might be able to address global inequality. Lastly, it gives an

overview of the structure of this thesis in order to demonstrate these two propositions.

Personal context

After graduating from high school I began tertiary studies in fine arts with the intention of

becoming an artist. Each day I would catch the train from my home in the suburbs, alight

in Sydney’s red-‐light district of Kings Cross, and begin the ten-‐minute walk to the National

Art School. It was this enlightening daily walk, along with a personal spiritual encounter,

that ultimately led to my leaving art school two years into my three-‐year degree.

At the time, my reasoning appeared simple and straightforward, “How can I spend the

rest of my life painting pictures when there are people in our world living in poverty,

severely disadvantaged and oppressed?” Two years later I became a full time street

outreach worker with the Salvation Army assisting homeless young people on the streets

of Kings Cross where most of the clients were drug addicted and/or engaged in

prostitution. Over the following 15 years I studied and worked in areas that addressed

poverty and global inequality in a practical manner, graduating with a Masters in Refugee

Studies from the University of Oxford and managing poverty alleviation programs

throughout the world.

Embarking on this Masters in Fine Art is therefore not merely a theoretical investigation,

but a personal one. And this shall become all the more apparent in the works produced

herein. Was I wrong in my previous synopsis that art was of far less value to the poor and

oppressed than issues like community development or legal representation? For that

matter, are the two world’s even mutually exclusive? Or could some of the answers to

addressing issues of global inequality actually be found in the sphere of visual art?


Definitions

In order to investigate a possible role of visual art in addressing issues of global inequality

it is important to first give a working definition of both the terms ‘visual art’ and ‘global

inequality’. This thesis adopts a rather broad definition of ‘visual art’ as an expression or

application of human creative skill and imagination often practiced in visual forms such as

drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture, photography, new media/video, performance,

textiles or architecture.8 This thesis therefore aims to investigate if any, but not

necessarily all, of the expressions of visual art might be of assistance in addressing issues

of global inequality. It focuses largely on contemporary artists and artworks because these

exist within the current context of global inequality that this research addresses.

By ‘global inequality’ this thesis refers to the severe inequality that is most obvious in

terms of wealth distribution but is also exacerbated by inequalities in access to health care

or education, unequal restrictions on freedom of movement, and the astringent inequality

in access to opportunity around the world.

Not all inequality may be assumed to be negative, for example this thesis accepts that

some inequality is essential to drive economic growth, rewarding those who work hard,

take risks, possess talent and are innovative.9 However, extreme inequality can often have

negative impacts on economic growth and poverty reduction; multiply social problems; be

morally questionable; and can even erode the principles of democratic governance, as US

Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis famously said, “We may have democracy, or we

8 Oxford Dictionary, 2015, Oxford University Press, retrieved on 7 June 2015 from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/art 9 R Fuentes-‐Nieva & N Glasso, ‘Working for the few: political capture and economic inequality’, Oxfam, 20 January 2014, p. 2 retrieved on 2 April 2015 from https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bp-‐working-‐for-‐few-‐political-‐capture-‐economic-‐inequality-‐200114-‐summ-‐en.pdf


may have wealth concentrated in the hands of the few, but we cannot have both.”10

This thesis therefore focuses on the nexus of visual art and global inequality, and how the

former can help address the negative effects of the latter.

Art and inequality

This thesis proposes two key means by which visual art can address issues of global

inequality. Firstly, visual art can be used as a vehicle for the redistribution of wealth. In

some cases the artwork itself may operate as an apparatus of wealth redistribution,

moving funds from the richer to the poorer, perhaps through performance or through the

manner of the work’s construction.11 In other instances, the wealth redistribution may be

a step removed from the artwork and be achieved through the sale of art and the

donation of the proceeds to causes that address inequality.12

Secondly, visual art may be used as an instrument of increased awareness and advocacy.

In this instance art provides an insight into the lives of the poor or oppressed, it arouses

compassion and understanding for the underprivileged and can serve as a reminder of the

existence of those who bear the brunt of inequality.13 Art may act as a form of advocacy

for the voiceless and a means of social change as increased knowledge and understanding

lead to better individual and societal decisions and actions aimed at addressing

inequality.14 Each of these two methods are elaborated upon in the following chapter and

investigated through art practice in subsequent chapters.

10 R Fuentes-‐Nieva & N Glasso, ‘Working for the few: political capture and economic inequality’, Oxfam, 20 January 2014, p. 3 retrieved

on 2 April 2015 from https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bp-‐working-‐for-‐few-‐political-‐capture-‐economic-‐inequality-‐200114-‐summ-‐en.pdf 11 ‘Ai Weiwei: sunflower seeds’, TATE Gallery, 14 October 2010, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PueYywpkJW8 12 ‘Seeking Humanity’, Asylum Seekers Centre, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from http://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/seeking-‐humanity/

13 A de Botton & J Armstrong, Art as Therapy, Phaidon Press, UK, 2013, p.5

14 M Parr, ‘Mike Parr uses body in topical exhibition’, ABC News, 28 Feb 2012, retrieved on 14 September 2014 from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljtZsmEHxT0


It is important to note that an exhaustive investigation into the means by which all the

forms of visual art might address the many issues of global inequality is beyond the scope

of this paper. An example of such a means is the use of art as an income generation

mechanism for the poor.15 I am currently employed by an Australian non-‐government

organisation (NGO), Global Concern, to manage overseas aid and development programs,

including projects where we train men and women in sewing, floristry, stencil design and

fabric printing in order that they may use these creative skills to earn an income.16 Whilst

this would have been an interesting avenue to pursue regarding art and global inequality,

and one within my field of experience, it fell outside the scope of this thesis because it did

not lend itself well to expression through personal art practice. Pursuit of this line of

research would have resulted in a thesis with increased emphasis on the documentation

of the work of graduates from such development programs. Because this thesis is one of

practice-‐based research, it was important to me that the concepts were expressed

through my own art practice, rather than simply documented in the practice of others.

Art can also be used as a means of therapy or counselling.17 In this instance art can take on

a cathartic quality, empowering the individual to move through challenges or injustices

suffered as a result of global inequality, or simply as a result of general difficulties in life.

Art can also provide very practical assistance to the vulnerable. Artist Greg Kloehn builds

‘tiny houses’ out of street refuse and gives them to California’s homeless.18 The homes are

placed on castor wheels so they can be moved around and provide some of the USA’s

poorest citizens with a greater semblance of home.

Both of these examples, art therapy and art as a form of practical assistance, are also

15 ‘Our supporters’, Djilpin Arts, retrieved on 12 June 2015 from http://djilpinarts.org.au/support-‐us

16 ‘Bangladesh Community Development Project’, Global Concern, retrieved on 12 June 2015 from

http://globalconcern.org.au/portfolio/bangladesh/?id=2513 17 The Refugee Art Project, retrieved on 12 June 2015 from http://therefugeeartproject.com/home/

18 ‘Tiny houses: California’s homelessness gets new $40 solution’, RT News, 21 February 2015, retrieved on 12 June 2015 from

http://rt.com/usa/234371-‐tiny-‐houses-‐california-‐poor/


interesting means by which art can address issues of global inequality. However, they too

fall outside the scope of this thesis largely due to the practical limitations in the amount of

research material that can be covered. This limitation becomes all the more apparent with

this Masters research comprising two exhibitions, instead of one, already greatly

increasing the material available for analysis.

It is hoped that limiting the focus of this thesis to the two aforementioned areas of wealth

redistribution and awareness, will more effectively demonstrate the capabilities of both in

addressing issues of global inequality.

It may also be helpful to acknowledge the perspective from which this research is written

and that when this thesis refers to ‘we’ or ‘us’ it generally refers to someone who, by

global standards, is comparatively wealthy. Understanding who is comparatively wealthy

will be discussed in later chapters, and through art practice itself, but for now, whilst it

may seem somewhat odd, it could be helpful to know that the terms ‘we’ and ‘us’ are

used in this research to include the majority of Westerners, and consequently the majority

of Australians.

Thesis structure

This section provides an overview of the structure of this thesis by briefly outlining the

contents of each chapter and the two main parts of the thesis. Following the thesis

introduction of Chapter 1; Chapter 2 provides a methodology, which outlines in greater

detail the two methods of wealth redistribution and increased awareness along with

examples of their application by various artists.

The bulk of the rest of the thesis is then broken into two parts, ‘Part One: One thing you

lack’ and ‘Part Two: The art of global inequality’, each part corresponding to an art

exhibition held as part of my Masters research.

I began my Masters research at the start of 2012 and in December 2012 held my first


exhibition, ‘One thing you lack’. This exhibition was a performance piece investigating

philosophical and theological claims regarding how the rich should respond to the poor. In

its most basic form it involved me selling everything I owned and giving it to charities that

help the poor. ‘Part One: One thing you lack’ investigates this work in five chapters:

Chapter 3 describes the artwork; Chapter 4 sketches an outline of the key artists who

influenced the work; Chapter 5 explores the relationship between morality and art;

Chapter 6 gives an overview of the moral concepts that inspired the work; and finally,

Chapter 7 assesses how the work addresses issues of global inequality through the means

of wealth redistribution and increased awareness.

‘Part Two: The art of global inequality’ investigates the rest of the artworks that comprise

this research, most of which are included in my second and final Masters exhibition held in

August 2015. This part is broken into five chapters, each chapter aligning with different

artworks: Chapter 8 ‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances’; Chapter 9 ‘The

chronicles of everything owned (and sold)’ and ‘Stuff self’; Chapter 10 ‘A place to think’;

Chapter 11 ‘Don’t deny us development’; and Chapter 12 ‘Those who can’t fly’. Each

chapter gives an overview of the artwork, outlines artists who influenced the work, and

lastly, investigates how the work addresses issues of global inequality.

The final chapter of the thesis, Chapter 13, draws overall conclusions around what this

practice-‐based art research has achieved in the context of global inequality.

Images of relevant artists and artworks are scattered throughout the thesis to help

illustrate different aspects of the research. A number of appendices are also attached in

instances where it was thought the reader might benefit from further insights regarding

the research. These include a full copy of the Peter Singer’s article, ‘The drowning child

and the expanding circle’, a key challenge this thesis responds to (Appendix 1); media and

public response to ‘One thing you lack’ (Appendix 2).


Chapter 2 | Methodology

This chapter outlines the two methods of wealth redistribution and increased awareness

that this art research uses to address issues of global inequality.

Redistribution of wealth

Selling art and donating the proceeds to the poor, or charities that work with the poor, is a

common and effective means by which art serves to redistribute wealth. World Vision was

proud to have Christine Cafarella-‐Pearce create 15 charcoal drawings that were auctioned

off to support their development programs in Africa.19 Comic relief, a UK charity, recently

raised over 1 billion pounds through comedy performances,20 highlighting the paradox

that one of the most light-‐hearted and sometimes trivial of art forms, comedy, could be

linked to one of the most dark and serious circumstances in our world, poverty. And

Wendy Sharpe recently donated all proceeds from her exhibition, ‘Seeking Humanity’ (see

fig. 1), to the Asylum Seeker Centre. The exhibition consisted of a series of portraits of

Australian asylum seekers and refugees.21

19 ‘Christine puts art and soul into 40 hour famine’, World Vision, 8 August 2014, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from

http://www.worldvision.com.au/Issues/Transforming_Lives___Child_Sponsorship/christine-‐puts-‐art-‐and-‐soul-‐into-‐the-‐40HF.aspx 20 R Buchanan, ‘Comic Relief breaks 1bill raised on its 30th birthday’, The Independent, 15 March 2015, retrieved on 24 March 2015

from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-‐entertainment/red-‐nose-‐day-‐2015-‐comic-‐relief-‐breaks-‐1bn-‐raised-‐on-‐charitys-‐30th-‐anniversary-‐10108120.html 21 ‘Seeking Humanity’, Asylum Seekers Centre, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from -‐ http://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/seeking-‐

humanity/


Figure 1 -‐ Wendy Sharp and her portraits ‘Seeking humanity’ (2015) 22

Admittedly, the amounts being donated through the above art fundraisers pale into

insignificance against those donated by some of the world’s wealthiest. Bill Gates, the

world’s richest individual, has a personal estimated wealth of $70 billion.23 His foundation

has made a formidable impact and given more than $26 billion in grants to address issues

of poverty and inequality in more than 100 countries since its inception in 2000.24

But at the same time, it should be acknowledged that billions of dollars change hands

between the elite of the world in the sale and purchase of art each year. Global art sales in

2014 broke all known historical records with a total of 51 billion euros in value

worldwide.25 And these funds are moving between an ever smaller and more elite portion

of the ultra-‐wealthy. Whilst the total value of art sales increased there were only 39

million total transactions in 2014, significantly less than the 50 million in 2007.26 And 48

percent of the global art market came from only 1,530 lots, which sold for more than 1

22 ‘Seeking Humanity’, Asylum Seekers Centre, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from -‐ http://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/seeking-‐

humanity/ 23 ‘Gate’s way of giving’, UNSWorld, June 2013, issue 18, UNSW Australia, p. 13

24 Ibid., p. 13

25 ‘Global art sales in 2014 break all known records’, The European Fine Art Foundation, 11 March 2015, retrieved on 24 March 2015

from http://www.tefaf.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=15&tabindex=14&pressrelease=16959&presslanguage 26 ‘TEFAF report 2015: US tops the global art market, China and UK tie at second place’, Art Radar Journal, 13 March 2015, retrieved on

24 March 2014 from http://artradarjournal.com/2015/03/13/tefaf-‐report-‐2015-‐us-‐tops-‐the-‐global-‐art-‐market-‐china-‐and-‐uk-‐tie-‐at-‐second-‐place/


million euros each at auction (including 96 lots for over 10 million euros). Together these

lots represented only 0.5 percent of the total number of transactions.27

As a comparison, economist Jeffery Sachs estimated that extreme poverty could be

completely eradicated in 20 years at a total cost of 160 billion euros per year28. Thus the

annual value of the world art market alone takes us close to one third of the way to the

annual amount required for the eradication of extreme poverty on a global scale. Whilst it

would be highly unrealistic to think that anywhere near that amount might be donated

from art sales to addressing issues of global inequality, these figures tell of the immense

wealth and potential that rests within the art market.

I am under no illusions that the estimated financial value of my own art practice is of any

great significance in terms of the art market. None the less, all proceeds from any art sales

that form part of this research are being donated to charities that work with the poor and

vulnerable in the hope and belief that these proceeds can make a significant difference in

the lives of others.

But beyond the art market, what if the artwork itself was a form of redistributing wealth?

Ai Weiwei’s ‘Sunflower Seeds’ (see fig. 2) required the hand crafting of 100 million

porcelain seeds and served as a form of income generation for hundreds of poor workers.

The artwork was created in the small town of Jingdezhen, China, where 1,600 people were

employed in producing the seeds (see fig. 3). As a result, the large commission provided

by the TATE Gallery in the United Kingdom ended up directly supporting the poor and

vulnerable in China. When one of the Chinese workers was asked if she was happy

working on the project she beamingly responded, “Of course! Bring business. There is

27 ‘TEFAF report 2015: US tops the global art market, China and UK tie at second place’, Art Radar Journal, 13 March 2015, retrieved on

24 March 2014 from http://artradarjournal.com/2015/03/13/tefaf-‐report-‐2015-‐us-‐tops-‐the-‐global-‐art-‐market-‐china-‐and-‐uk-‐tie-‐at-‐second-‐place/ 28 J Sachs, The end of poverty: Economic possibilities of our time, The Penguin Press, USA, 2005, p.85


nothing much to do here anymore. Basically a lot of people have gone bankrupt.”29 In

contrast to the poor economic climate of the small town, workers contributing to

‘Sunflower seeds’ enjoyed good conditions and were even able to take their work home

with them.

Figure 2 -‐ Ai Weiwei with his 'Sunflower seeds' (2010)30

Ai Weiwei states, “They are all nice people. You [I] feel like you [I] might have to make

some more or other kinds of projects that can meet their needs,”31 reflecting a clear

perception that this work is meeting the practical needs of the local people. He also

expounds on the meaning of sunflowers as representative of the people within China in a

29 ‘Ai Weiwei: sunflower seeds’, TATE Gallery, 14 October 2010, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PueYywpkJW8 30 Ibid.

31 Ibid.


political and spiritual sense stating, “The seed is a household object but at the same time

it is a revolutionary symbol.”32 “This nation is notorious for its ability to make or fake

anything cheaply. 'Made-‐in-‐China' goods now fill homes around the world. But our giant

country has a small problem. We can't manufacture the happiness of our people.”33 From

the response of the workers employed in creating ‘Sunflower seeds’, it appears Ai

Weiwei’s artwork is effectively addressing this ‘small’ problem, providing increased access

to finance and opportunity to those in a largely disadvantaged portion of the world.

Figure 3 -‐ Chinese workers creating seeds for Ai Weiwei's 'Sunflower seeds'34

My own art practice achieves a similar goal of redistributing wealth in a slightly more

overt manner. ‘One thing you lack’ was a performance in which I sold everything I owned

32 Ai Weiwei, Brainy Quote, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/ai_weiwei.html

33 Ibid.

34 ‘Ai Weiwei on faceless mass production’, Situation is studio, 22 February 2013, retrieved on 17 July 2015 from

http://situationiststudio.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/ai-‐weiwei-‐on-‐faceless-‐mass-‐production.html


and gave it to the poor in line with the moral teachings of philosopher Peter Singer,35 and

the Jesus Christ.36 This work will be elaborated on the next chapter but it drives at the

heart of wealth redistribution by enacting very practical and possible responsibilities of

the rich to the poor.

Awareness and advocacy

Art can be an effective means of learning about the world and understanding other

perspectives in what some term a form of ‘therapy’ that shapes us into better people.37

Alain Botton and John Armstrong pose the possibility of using art as a tool to extend our

capacities beyond those that nature has originally endowed us with. They propose that art

is a “therapeutic medium that can help guide, exhort and console its viewers, enabling

them to become better versions of themselves.”38 They provide seven functions by which

art might achieve this outcome, being: remembering, hope, sorrow, rebalancing, self-‐

understanding, growth and appreciation.

This project utilizes a number of these functions in its research. ‘Ordinary people in

extraordinary circumstances’ aims to give an insight into the lives of the poor. The

photographic work depicts poor Zambian farmers with their favourite possession,

challenging the notion of the poor as an empty handed victim, but also giving an insight

into the personalities of the individuals depicted and that which they deemed important

to them. These works help the viewer ‘remember’ the poor. Likewise, Vincent Van Gogh’s

‘The potato eaters’ (see fig. 4) was a portrayal of poverty that brought the lives of poor

country people into art.

35 P Singer, ‘Famine, affluence and morality’, Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 1, no. 1, Spring 1972, p.229-‐243, retrieved on 15 July

2015 from http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1972-‐-‐-‐-‐.htm 36 Mark 10:17-‐27

37 A de Botton & J Armstrong, Art as Therapy, Phaidon Press, UK, 2013, p. 6

38 Ibid., p. 7


Figure 4 -‐ Vincent Van Gogh's 'The potato eaters' (1885)39

Art is able to educate and remind people of the reality of life for others. It can engage with

the ‘sorrow’ of poverty, acknowledging the sadness of injustice, and its images can bring a

‘rebalancing’ to our lives, which may have been overtaken by consumerism and an

attitude that takes for granted the economic privilege we enjoy on a global scale.

Similarly some of my works hope to provide an opportunity for improved ‘self-‐

understanding’ through reflection on our greater purpose and the meaning of our

existence and role in the world. To challenge us with ideals of life that we may have

thought beyond us, or foreign to us, and in doing so bring both ‘hope’ and ‘growth’. And

finally to give us a greater ‘appreciation’ of the life we have, the wealth we own and the

39 J Jones, ‘Poverty lines: where are the poor in art today?’ The Guardian, 30 December 2014, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/dec/30/art-‐and-‐poverty-‐where-‐are-‐poor-‐in-‐art-‐today


opportunities afforded us on such a grand scale.

When these experiences mould the way we understand and think, they also have the

capacity to change the way we act. Award winning photographer, Tammy Cromer-‐

Campbell believes images have the power to inspire people to action. When asked if she

thought her photographs of a community struggling with pollution could help affect social

change, she replied; “I think that if people see the work, read the text, and are sensitive to

what happened in this tiny community, hopefully it pisses them off enough to get them to

their feet as activists.”40 Political scientist, Murray Edelman, argues that “contrary to the

usual assumption-‐which sees art as ancillary to the social scene, divorced of it, or at best,

reflective of it – art should be recognised as a major and integral part of the transaction

that engenders political behaviour.”41

This is the point at which art’s ability to function as a channel for education and awareness

develops into a means of advocacy. Whilst education and therapy might be first focussed

on change in the individual, advocacy aims to bring change on a societal level.42 This may

occur through collective action but often stems from individuals who receive education

and become aware of their ability to instil change in the world around them.43 Street artist

Callie Curry, aka ‘Swoon’, shares about her entry into street art, “I was a young woman

and I really had no sense of my ability to make any kind of change in the world. And then

suddenly in this very practical way, I went outside, I put up a ‘wheat paste’ [a paper poster

stuck to walls using a glue mixed from flour and water], I walked by the next day, and

there it was. And I had changed that street corner… And it’s a very, very tiny change, but

40 J.W. Delicath, ‘Art and Advocacy: Citizen participation through cultural activism’, in Communication and Public Participation, edited

by J.W. Delicath and S.P. Depoe, SUNY Press, 2004, retrieved on 25 March 2015 from http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=QxiQO9ZfCqgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA255&dq=art+as+advocacy&ots=fgI8XXrp_-‐&sig=AaiE8Ae23iDL4wjM3I7UsaFV0pE#v=onepage&q=art%20as%20advocacy&f=false 41 M Edelman, From art to politics: how artistic creations shape political conceptions, The university of Chicago press, USA, 1996, pp.2.

42 M Chao, Advocacy in CPTING project, November 2015, p. 2, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from

http://cpting.webfactional.com/media/uploads/Advocacy-‐note.pdf 43 Ibid., p. 3


none the less for me to be able to see and read back that I could have an impact on things

was really, really transformative.”44

Curry then went on to undertake art projects for social change including collaborating

with ‘The Equality Effect’, working with young Kenyan girls who had been raped. Curry

worked first hand with the girls in Kenya, helping them create drawings, masks and then a

performance.45 She also undertook a large block print artwork based on her experiences

(see fig. 5). One print was given to the children’s home that housed the girls and another

was auctioned off to raise funds to support the work in Kenya.46

44 C Curry, ‘Callie Curry aka Swoon’, TEDX Talks Brooklyn, 24 December 2010, retrieved on 25 March 2015 from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5298KZuW_JE 45 C Curry, ‘The art of equality’, The Equality Effect, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from http://theequalityeffect.org/the-‐art-‐of-‐equality

46 Ibid.


Figure 5 -‐ Callie Curry's work for 'The equality effect' project (2012)47

This art research therefore aims to inspire people to act differently. It may do that through

challenging assumptions around the way we live or engaging in a performance that

encourages audience members to respond in a manner that positively addresses issues of

global inequality.

Mike Parr’s performance work, ‘Malevich – A political arm’ and ‘Close the concentration

camps’ (see fig. 6) challenged the detention of asylum seekers as a violation of their

human rights by stitching his face and lips into a caricature of shame and nailing his arm to

a wall. Parr reflects on ‘Close the concentration camps’ saying, “so my face is sewn into a

47 ‘Our Supporters’, Equality Effect, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from http://theequalityeffect.org/our-‐supporters


knot and then my makeup artist is actually using the distortions in my face to build a

distorted cubist picture so it’s like a sort of, bizarre sort of parody.”48 Parr’s works grapple

with the restriction of human rights and in particular the issue of asylum and detention

centres, a topic about which he says, ‘the response of this country really fell short and

revealed our complacency and our privilege.’49

Figure 6 -‐ Mike Parr | Left: ‘Malevich -‐ a political arm’ (2002)50 | Right: ‘Close the concentration camps’ (2002)51

Parr believes that performance art isn’t about entertainment, but rather “it emerges in


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljtZsmEHxT0 49 Ibid.

50 ‘Mike Parr at midnight: a performance protocol’, retrieved on 17 July 2015 from

http://members.iinet.net.au/~postpub/8ball/issue%2028/Parr=_Malevich_A_Political_Arm_.html 51 F Parr, ‘Mike Parr – Close the concentration camps, 2002’, Sherman Galleries, retrieved on 17 July 2015 from

http://shermangalleries.sherman-‐scaf.org.au/artists/inartists/image_pop.asp%3Fimage=341.html


extremis.” In 1978 Parr performed a piece in Vienna at an international festival of

performance art to open the event. He reportedly “waited until the audience was seated

before informing them that he and his family were destitute. He then went around

systematically sealing all the doors with heavy lockdown gear, before announcing that it

would cost everyone 30 shillings each to get out. The anger and rioting that followed was

extraordinary. Parr had money flung in his face, ducked punches and finally decked

someone. People broke down the doors.”52

Parr says his performance was all about turning the tables on an audience who’d turned

up to watch him bleed, literally. “I wasn’t going to provide them the convenience of such a

spectacle… But as soon as I reversed things, they said, ‘How dare you?’ in effect I was

saying, ‘This is performance art. It’s always uncertain, and now its uncertain for you.

You’re going to become the performers, I’ll be the curator.’ I wanted to put them in the

position where they were outraged about [becoming] the performers. And that became

the piece.”53

In this way, Parr’s work moves the audience to a place where they are forced to act. His

work uses shocking and grotesque acts to confront his audience with the truth of their

own situation, whether that be their complacency and privilege towards human rights

violations, or towards the performance artist and life in general.

In a similar way, this project engages art as a form of advocacy on issues of global

inequality. ‘Don’t deny us development’ is a video installation in which rural Zambian

farmers ask not to be denied community development and Australian’s discuss challenges

they experience in addressing issues of global inequality. The video footage was taken

within the context of my performance work, ‘One thing you lack’, in which the individuals

52 N Barrowclough, ‘Under his skin’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2012

53 Ibid.


were involved either as audience members who bought some of my belongings to support

the poor, or in the case of the Zambian farmers, received support from funds raised

through the artwork. Both works challenge the audience to take action, either through the

calls of the Zambian farmers for greater equality in social development, or through the

opportunity to financially support the poor through buying my possessions, or perhaps

even giving away their own.


PART ONE | ONE THING YOU LACK

Chapter 3: One thing you lack

Chapter 4: Influencing artists

Chapter 5: Art and morality

Chapter 6: Moral responses to global inequality

Chapter 7: Addressing global inequality


Chapter 3 | One thing you lack

On the 5 December 2012 I sold everything I owned and gave it to the poor. ‘One thing you

lack’ was a performance based on two texts regarding the poor, one theological and the

other philosophical. The first was Jesus’s command to the rich young man, found in the

book of Luke 18:18-‐23, to “sell everything you own and give it to the poor.”54 The second

was a challenge by utilitarian, Peter Singer, who believes “if we can prevent something

bad, without sacrificing anything of comparable significance, we ought to do it.”55

As might be expected, selling everything you own in one week is not necessarily an easy

task, but it is by no means impossible. All my major items – motorbike, laptop, iPhone,

surfboard, wetsuit, paintings – I placed on a seven day auction, with no reserve, and

opening bids of one cent. They all sold. The rest of my possessions were set up in a gallery

space that closely resembled my home with a study, bedroom, art studio, bathroom,

kitchen and garage, (see fig. 7 & 9) and sold by a small team of volunteers.

54 Luke 18:18-‐23


2015 from http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1972-‐-‐-‐-‐.htm


Figure 7 – ‘One thing you lack’ prior to opening | Top left: Bedroom | Top right: online bidding | Bottom left: pantry

goods | Bottom right: art studio

I assumed that some items would not sell – old clothes, linen, worn books – so I organised

to deliver and donate what was left to the local Salvation Army store (see fig. 8). But I

actually thought that even the Salvation Army would not take much of what remained.

What about used underwear for instance? Since the aim of the artwork was to help the

poor, not simply pass items to someone to throw in the trash, I questioned the manager

as I dropped the boxes off, “Do you really want my personally inscribed under 12’s soccer

trophies and marathon medals?” “Oh yes,” he said, “we’ll mark them at one dollar each

and people will buy them for an Olympics dress up party.” When I returned to deliver the

second load of goods, my medals were already in the bargain box and my boxer shorts

were hanging on the rack.


Figure 8 -‐ Inside the Salvation Army store the day after delivering 'One thing you lack' goods | Top left: my boxer

shorts on the rack marked at $1.50 | Top right: my awards and trophies sit in a bargain bin | Bottom left: my artworks

| Bottom right: my books, still marked with stickers from the exhibition, displayed on a coffee table

I emptied the contents of my bank accounts, and gave what was in them, along with the

proceeds of the sale, to a charity, Global Concern, that operates sustainable poverty

alleviation projects in some of the poorest parts of the world.

The performance aimed to challenge our right to retain wealth when faced by the needs

of those in extreme poverty. Whilst I may not be rich by Australian standards, for example

I did not own a house or a car, when I entered my income on www.globalrichlist.com, it

told me that I was in the top one percent of the world by income. In fact anyone with an

income over AU$50,000 per year meets the criteria for the top one percent richest people

in the world by income, a fact that can be both flattering and unsettling in the context of


global inequality.56 The same source also informed me that it would take an average

labourer in Ghana 243 years to earn my annual salary.57

‘One thing you lack’ saw me move to financial and material ground zero in the hope of

moving others out of poverty. Whilst the work follows a rather simple and direct maxim, it

is broad in its scope with regard to its implications on aspects of poverty, consumerism,

identity, relational responsibility and other areas of life. Any narrative I give of the work

usually arouses numerous questions in the audience, such as where did I sleep, what did I

eat, and how did people respond? However, before analysing these aspects of the work I

think it would first be helpful to understand the artists that influenced the piece and the

philosophy that inspired it. We shall return to explore answers to the above questions and

others in Chapter 7 as we examine the work’s impact on global inequality.

Figure 9 -‐ 'One thing you lack' prior to opening | Left: my bedside table – all my drawers and cupboards remained full,

in the same manner in which I lived with them. People freely rummaged through belongings to identity items they

wished to purchase. | Right: my degrees available for bidding. These were arranged in bundles where winning

bidders received the degree certificate (in my name), all notes and books related to the degree and, in some

instances, a cap, gown and graduation photographs.

56 The Global Rich List, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.globalrichlist.com/

57 Ibid.


Chapter 4 | Influencing artists

Recent decades have seen numerous contemporary artists undertaking works that

investigate our relationships with our possessions and what we own.58 Such works often

reflect a disdain for the growing consumerism common in our age. This chapter explores

the work of three artists, Michael Landy, Neil Boorman and Jasper Joffe, whose

performances heavily influenced me in the development of ‘One thing you lack’. The

challenge with exploring performances is that they are more difficult to observe or

comprehend after the event than some other art forms, for instance painting. Therefore,

as much as possible this section will attempt to let the artists explain their work in their

own words, in the hope of communicating and preserving the original intent of their

performance. The end of this chapter will locate my work, ‘One thing you lack’, within the

context of the three performances discussed.

Michael Landy

In 2001, Michael Landy conducted ‘Breakdown’. Landy says, “The idea of Breakdown came

to me in 1998 when I was sitting at my kitchen wondering what I was going to do next…

and I thought, ‘How can I mess it up for myself?’ That was the moment I decided to

destroy all my worldly goods.”59

“As a child I’d always been into taking things apart so I could see how they were put

together. I call it an examination of consumerism. So I took apart every one of my 7,227

belongings over a two-‐week period in the old C&A building on Oxford Street, which is now

58 L Corner, ‘Has destroying all thei worldly goods made this artists happy?’ The Independent, 10 January 2010, retrieved on 15 April

2015 from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-‐entertainment/art/features/has-‐destroying-‐all-‐their-‐worldly-‐goods-‐made-‐these-‐artists-‐happy-‐1859854.html 59 Ibid.


a Primark. I had 100 metres of conveyor belt to carry all my stuff (see fig. 10) and 12

operatives who I had employed for their dismantling skills. Everything I owned was broken

down to its material parts and then granulated. It was all very forensic. The whole lot was

weighed – it came to 5.75 tones – then taken off to a landfill in Essex.”60

Figure 10 -‐ 'Breakdown', Michael Landy (2001)61

In Landy’s words, ‘Breakdown’ appears to be both an act of self-‐sabotage and an

‘examination of consumerism’62. He doesn’t reference any form of moral ideal or principle

from which he operated. The self-‐sabotage appears both casual and spontaneous in its

60 L Corner, ‘Has destroying all their worldly goods made this artists happy?’ The Independent, 10 January 2010, retrieved on 15 April


62 Ibid.


inception, whilst the examination of consumerism became the more thoughtful and

investigative nature of ‘Breakdown’ in the act of performance.

Neil Boorman

In 2006, Niel Boorman burnt all his branded, designer items in a giant bonfire and then

wrote a book about the experience entitled ‘Bonfire of the Brands.’63 Boorman says, “I was

such a brand whore and such a shopaholic that my identity and sense of self were entirely

based around the things I owned. I was a walking billboard and believed that the logos I

wore signified status. I would judge other people entirely by the labels they wore, too. My

headspace was totally taken up by thoughts of brands. I used to spend my entire time

sitting around thinking which new mobile phone or PDA would define me best.”64

"I realised it was time to do something about it when my partner and I went to a remote

beach in India to get away from everything. She woke to find me wading through the sea

trying to get a signal on my BlackBerry because I was half way through a bidding war on

eBay for a Gucci sweatshirt.”65

"So on the 17 September 2006 I burnt the entire contents of my branded life (see fig. 11).

It was a good £20,000 worth of stuff – lots of clothing by Raf Simons, Vivienne Westwood,

Gucci and Louis Vuitton; I was into all the big, ostentatious labels. There was also a

Technics turntable, a Sharp LCD TV, a Dyson cleaner, Habitat furniture, numerous



65 Ibid.


BlackBerrys and Nokia phones and loads more. I made a pact to try to live completely

brand-‐free for a year.”66

Figure 11 -‐ 'Bonfire of the brands', Neil Boorman (2006)67

Boorman’s ‘Bonfire of the brands’ was therefore an attempt to release his identity and

sense of self from his branded possessions. It was about finding who he was apart from

them. Once again, there was no moral statement or ideal from which the action was born.

The act was more a direct dialogue between Boorman and his possessions. However, the

dialogue takes place within the context of his relationships, and a world where his




possessions might bestow status, and comes to a head in the presence of his girlfriend.

Thus we find that whilst Landy investigates consumerism and destroys all his possessions

in order to cull back the crush of owning so much, Boorman focuses on aspects of identity

and therefore destroys only those items deemed most influential in defining his selfhood

and value in a hope of freeing these aspects of himself from the items themselves.

Jasper Joffe

In 2009, Jaspe Joffe performed ‘The Sale of a Lifetime’ selling everything he owned (see

fig. 12) after a relational and career crisis coincided, bringing his life to a place of new

beginnings. Joffe states, “I split up with my long-‐term girlfriend... I remember waking up in

my studio the morning after, thinking my life had hit rock bottom. We have a four-‐year-‐

old together and all I desperately wanted to do was get back with her. I'd also just split

from the gallery that had represented me for years. I was 33 and had reached a point

where I was having to start again both emotionally and career-‐wise.”68

"Not many people would think the solution to their problems would be to sell everything

they owned, but it made sense to me. I felt as if I had a big hole in my life and I needed to

do something extreme. It was around the time that Woolworths was going under and the

credit crunch was on everyone's mind. I just wanted to put everything in one place, put it

up for sale, and say my life was going out of business.”69




Figure 12 -‐ Left: Jaspe Joffe | Right: 'The sale of a lifetime' (2009)70

For Joffe, the sale of everything he owned was a personal experience brought on by a

particular set of circumstances. Joffe was killing off a section of his life, closing it down and

shutting it away. ‘The Sale of a Lifetime’ is distinct from the previous two works in that it

shifts its key modus operandi from destruction to selling. Rather than destroying the old

life, Joffe is selling the old life, presumably to pay for the new one.

Landy, Boorman and Joffe in the context of global inequality

As an international aid and development worker, I naturally grappled with these works

from within my day-‐to-‐day perspective of working closely with the poor. I found them

intriguing in their analysis of consumerism but felt that they pointed towards a greater

moral challenge.

The works of Landy, Boorman and Joffe tended to raise issues of identity and

consumerism almost from within a vacuum. Our focus is intent on the artist and their


2015 from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-‐entertainment/art/features/has-‐destroying-‐all-‐their-‐worldly-‐goods-‐made-‐these-‐artists-‐happy-‐1859854.html


things and the making and breaking of this connection between them. But what of the

greater context in which these works exist and the making and breaking is played out?

By zooming out from the direct connection between person and object we can analyse

these works on a different level, one that takes into account the global society in which

they are performed, and in particular the context of global inequality. For example, what

does it mean for Landy and Boorman to destroy all their possessions and wealth in a world

where so many people go without and 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty?71

Such questions require a moral framework to seek out their answers. The next chapter

aims to establish such a framework for this purpose. This research then takes the

performance methods used by Landy, Borrman and Joffe in their investigation of

consumerism and applies them within the established moral framework with the aim of

investigating global inequality, and resulting in the work of ‘One thing you lack.’

71 M Tuck, ‘New Data Show 1.4 Billion Live On Less Than US$1.25 A Day, But Progress Against Poverty Remains Strong’, The World Bank,

16 September 2008, retrieved on 15 April 2015 from http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-‐release/2008/09/16/new-‐data-‐show-‐14-‐billion-‐live-‐less-‐us125-‐day-‐progress-‐against-‐poverty-‐remains-‐strong


Chapter 5 | Art and morality

From the times of Aristotle and Plato, art and morality have been debated as to their

compatibility and interdependence. Aristotle believed that art was a helpful tool in

understanding morality and that an audience viewing aspects of pity and fear (in his view

the essence of tragedy) could better empathise with and understand tragic events,

without having to experience them first hand.72 Plato, on the other hand, felt that acting

was an illusion of reality that masked the truth of existence by the pretence of acting.73

Opposing views as to the interrelationship between art and morality have continued to

this day, but unfortunately a full discussion on this area falls outside the scope of this

thesis. Instead, this chapter will attempt to give a brief overview as to how this research

has interpreted the role of art and its relationship to morality in our lives.

This thesis adopts the approach of Suzi Gablik,74 Alain de Botton and John Armstrong,75

who describe art as a therapeutic medium that can help guide, exhort and console its

viewers, enabling them to become better versions of themselves. This notion rejects the

concept of ‘art for art’s sake’, a definition that they believe leaves the high status of art

mysterious and vulnerable. Instead, art is considered as at least holding the capacity for

purpose. De Botton and Armstrong believe that “since the beginning of the twentieth

century, our relationship with art has been weakened by a profound institutional

reluctance to address the question of what art is for,” and that “this question has, quite

72 Aristotle, Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol. 23, translated by W. H. Fyfe, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1932 73 Plato, Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6 translated by Paul Shorey, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William

Heinemann Ltd. 1969 74 S Gablik, ‘A New Front’, Resurgence Magazine, 2004, retrieved on 27 June 2015 from http://

greenmuseum.org/content/generic_content/ct_id-‐170.html 75 A de Botton & J Armstrong, Art as Therapy, Phaidon Press, UK, 2013 p.5


unfairly, come to feel impatient, illegitimate and a little impudent.”76

This same notion is reinforced by Suzi Gablik, who believes any divide between art and

morality, aesthetics and ethics, is part of a narrow Western consumer-‐culture perspective,

“In Western culture,” she says, “artists aren’t encouraged to be integral to the social,

environmental, or spiritual life of the community. The do not train to engage with real-‐life

problems. Instead they learn to be competitive with their products in the marketplace.”77

Galbik sees this perspective as a failure to fully understand the function and potential of

art.78

Whilst de Botton and Armstrong acknowledge that there may be numerous functions of

art, they focus on what they term therapeutic functions. These functions include how art

might “help with a broken heart, set the sorrows of the individual into perspective, help us

find consolation in nature, educate our sensitivity to the needs of others, keep the right

ideals of a successful life at the front of our minds and help us to understand ourselves.”79

Many people can attest to works of art playing exactly these and other therapeutic roles.

But overall, de Botton and Armstrong maintain that art should be studied with the

question, “What lessons are you trying to teach us that will help us with our lives?”80

And it is at this point that art and moral philosophy intersect. Moral philosophy or the

study of ethics involves systematizing, defending and recommending concepts of right and

wrong behaviour.81 This research relies on two key aspects of moral philosophy, namely

normative ethics and applied ethics. Normative ethics strives to articulate the “good

76 A de Botton & J Armstrong, Art as Therapy, Phaidon Press, UK, 2013 p.4 77 S Gablik, ‘A New Front’, Resurgence Magazine, 2004, retrieved on 27 June 2015 from http://

greenmuseum.org/content/generic_content/ct_id-‐170.html 78 Ibid.

79 A de Botton & J Armstrong, Art as Therapy, Phaidon Press, UK, 2013 p. 86

80 Ibid., p.87

81 J Fieser, ‘Ethics’, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy – A peer reviewed academic resource, USA, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from

http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/


habits we should acquire, the duties we should follow, or the consequences of our

behaviour on others.”82 Applied ethics involves examining specific controversial issues,

such as abortion, animal rights, environmental concerns, poverty and wealth. So it

becomes obvious that if a key purpose of art is to teach us lessons that will help us with

our lives, and moral philosophy aims to articulate good habits we should acquire, and how

we can apply them in specific circumstances in our life, then the two are both compatible

and mutually beneficial.

Having built the case for the compatibility of art and moral philosophy, it should also be

noted that this research is open to the fact that some art may not have any such function

at all. The work of the Chapman Brothers, for instance, is sometimes described as

amoral.83 Jake Chapman says, “if you enter the terrain of making art, the presupposition is

that a work of art, however nasty it is, that ultimately it must serve some morally

profound ambition, it still must be attached to the notion of progress, enlightenment,

goodness, all those things. What happens when you want to make a work that is only

nasty?”84

And this is exactly what the Chapman Brothers set out to do in works such as ‘Fucking

Hell’ (see fig. 13) depicting a gruesome mass of small plastic tormented figures, skulls and

ripped open torsos locked in a hellish waring landscape. Or the ‘Fuckface’ series of life-‐

sized sculptures of young naked children joined together in deformed ways, some with a

penis for a nose or an anus for a mouth. The Chapman’s work often arouses disgust and

could appear devoid of good. But some, like Mark Kermode, claim such works, in

particular horror films, made with no intent other than exploitation and nihilism, are still

82 J Fieser, ‘Ethics’, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy – A peer reviewed academic resource, USA, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from

http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/ 83 M Kermode, ‘Chapman Brothers Interview’, Art Patrol TV, 17 November 2008, retrieved on 1 October 2014 from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QeNatsDV4I 84 Ibid.


morally justifiable, perhaps partly because we can now see goodness more clearly against

the backdrop of such works, thereby making their sheer presence a good thing85. But Jake

Chapman says of this idea “that the inevitability of our work, however nasty it might

appear to be that still it can be cuddled at the end of it, no. Nope, there are razor blades in

it. Really. No we won’t have it. No!”

Figure 13 -‐ 'Fucking hell', Jake and Dinos Chapman (2008)86

For the sake of an argument that is beyond the scope of this paper, this research accepts

Jake Chapman’s assessment that some works of art can be only amoral or, as he says,

“nasty”. As such, this research argues not that art must intersect with moral ideals, but

merely that it can; that art can have the therapeutic functions applied to it by Gablik, de

Botton and Armstrong; that art does not have to be vacuous and undefinable, but that

whilst some art might be negative or self-‐serving, other art can and does play a pragmatic

85 M Kermode, ‘Chapman Brothers Interview’, Art Patrol TV, 17 November 2008, retrieved on 1 October 2014 from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QeNatsDV4I 86 G Sabato, ‘Jake and Dinos Chapman, Fucking hell, 2008’, Artribune, 26 April 2014, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from

http://www.artribune.com/2014/04/violent-‐beauty-‐la-‐sublime-‐violenza-‐della-‐contemporaneita-‐ii/07-‐61


and positive function in our lives.

Moral philosopher, Peter Singer, describes this purpose of art during an interview in which

he was asked if people saw him as somewhat cold and bloodless. Singer replied,

“Philosophers use reason and argument… If I were a poet, I would be writing poetry that

would pull at your emotions in order to make you empathise with the situation of the

battery hen or of the family who can't afford to put food on the table. So, that's the

professional hazard, if you like, of being a philosopher -‐ that you get seen as someone who

is all reason and no emotion.”87 Singer acknowledges that art can play a very helpful role

in engaging people in a unique way that his academic philosophy could not achieve on its

own. As such, we will now move onto a practical example in which art might play just such

a role within the context of global inequality.

87 A Denton, ‘Professor Peter Singer’, Enough Rope, 4 October 2004, retrieved on 15 July from

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1213309.htm


Chapter 6 | Moral responses to global inequality

In order to better investigate how art and ethics can relate in the context of global

inequality, two specific moral precepts were selected as case studies. These two precepts

were chosen for a number of reasons including: their relevance to the issue of global

inequality; their high and somewhat idealistic personal challenge (providing opportunity

for many of the therapeutic functions of art such as hope, re-‐balancing, growth and self

understanding); their differing foundations, one being theological and the other

philosophical; their broad agreement despite this difference, enabling the same moral

principle to appeal to a wider audience than just those ascribing to a single faith or

philosophy; and the genuine personal conviction they both raised within myself as an

artist.

This chapter is divided into two sections, each pertaining to a different moral concept. The

first moral precept comes from the philosophical teachings of Peter Singer, and the

second from the religious teachings of Jesus Christ. Each section explains the concept itself

and provides a brief understanding of its context and its practical implications for us

today.

Peter Singer

Peter Singer (see fig. 14) is currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at

Princeton University, and a Laureate Professor at the Centre of Applied Philosophy and

Public Ethics at the University of Melbourne. He is one of Australia’s foremost

philosophers and in 2006 he was voted one of Australia’s ten most influential public


intellectuals.88 He is an atheist, debating numerous times with Christian apologists on the

existence of God,89 and is passionate about addressing issues of poverty, having written

regularly on the topic and set up his own charity to make a practical difference.90

Figure 14 -‐ Peter Singer 91

88 R Nile, ‘First cohort for thought’, The Australian, 4 October 2006, retrieved on 15 July from

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/first-‐cohort-‐for-‐thought/story-‐e6frg6n6-‐1111112254409 89 Singer vs Lennox: Is there a God? Big Ideas, ABC, 6 September 2011, retrieved 18 July 2015 from

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bigideas/stories/2011/09/06/3310342.htm 90 P Singer, The life you can save, retrieved on 13 July 2015 from http://www.thelifeyoucansave.org

91 ‘Peter Singer’, Twitter, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from https://twitter.com/petersinger


Singer provides the normative challenge that, “If it is in our power to prevent something

bad from happening, without thereby sacrificing anything of comparable moral

importance, we ought, morally, to do it.” 92 The term ‘comparable moral importance’

signifies that individuals have to give to the point of marginal utility, that is to the point at

which giving more would cause oneself and one’s dependants as much suffering as one

would prevent.93 In simple terms, it means we should give to assist people when it will

help them more than it will harm us. This is a very egalitarian perspective on the world,

and one in which many of us might choose to live, especially if we were those who needed

help more than most, or in other words, if we were the poorest or most vulnerable in our

world. In such an instance, the principle would sit in our favour and bring about greater

equality, improving the lives of the needy.

However, given the widespread suffering caused by lack of food, shelter and medical care

in much of the world, and the financial and technological means that habitants of

developed countries have to address these issues, Singer’s principle places heavy

demands on our affluent global citizens. For even as such citizen’s apparent affluence

might be reduced through acts of charity, the demand continues until they find

themselves in a similar position recounted in Tolstoy’s ‘The demand’s of love’, where

having given away all their possessions, having no bed or pillow, save a meagre amount of

food, they encounter another also without possessions, but who is sickly and does not

even have an ounce of food and are required to share their own food with him.94

However, Singer points out that at this stage, the very principle being lived out is now in

their favour, for there will surely be many more affluent people who can now assist that

person in their poverty at very little cost to themselves.


2015 from http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1972-‐-‐-‐-‐.htm 93 Ibid.

94 L Tolstoy, The Demands of Love, 1893, translated by Aylmer Maude, Wikisource, retrieved on 18 April 2012 from

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Complete_Works_of_Lyof_N._Tolsto%C3%AF/The_Demands_of_Love


Singer provides an applied ethics example of this normative challenge well known as ‘The

Drowning Child and the Expanding Circle’ (see full article in Appendix 1):

“To challenge my students to think about the ethics of what we owe

to people in need, I ask them to imagine that their route to the

university takes them past a shallow pond. One morning, I say to

them, you notice a child has fallen in and appears to be drowning. To

wade in and pull the child out would be easy but it will mean that you

get your clothes wet and muddy, and by the time you go home and

change you will have missed your first class.

I then ask the students: do you have any obligation to rescue the

child? Unanimously, the students say they do. The importance of

saving a child so far outweighs the cost of getting one’s clothes

muddy and missing a class, that they refuse to consider it any kind of

excuse for not saving the child. Does it make a difference, I ask, that

there are other people walking past the pond who would equally be

able to rescue the child but are not doing so? No, the students reply,

the fact that others are not doing what they ought to do is no reason

why I should not do what I ought to do.

Once we are all clear about our obligations to rescue the drowning

child in front of us, I ask: would it make any difference if the child

were far away, in another country perhaps, but similarly in danger of

death, and equally within your means to save, at no great cost – and

absolutely no danger – to yourself? Virtually all agree that distance

and nationality make no moral difference to the situation. I then

point out that we are all in that situation of the person passing the

shallow pond: we can all save lives of people, both children and


adults, who would otherwise die, and we can do so at a very small

cost to us: the cost of a new CD, a shirt or a night out at a restaurant

or concert, can mean the difference between life and death to more

than one person somewhere in the world – and overseas aid agencies

like Oxfam overcome the problem of acting at a distance.”95

Singer goes on to explain the various challenges raised by students including the

assurance aid is received, that it is not squandered on administration or lost in corruption,

and even the introduction of new problems such as over population. Singer points out

that there are answers to all these questions but “even if a substantial proportion of our

donations were wasted, the cost to us of making the donation is so small, compared to

the benefits that it provides when it, or some of it, does get through to those who need

our help, that we would still be saving lives at a small cost to ourselves – even if aid

organisations were much less efficient than they actually are.”96

Furthermore, for Singer, the inactivity of other duty-‐bearers does not alter the demands

of the principle on the individual. In Singer’s analogy, he aptly points out that our

responsibility to rescue a drowning child is not diminished by the fact that others are also

walking by the pond equally able to rescue the child but are not doing so. So if others

choose not to address issues of suffering, this does not alleviate the responsibility of the

individual to follow the principle, even though it may leave them with a greater burden.

And thus the challenge builds, for although the suffering of the world is immense, if the

entire world followed this principle together the burden would be considerably lighter

than if we are left to live it out on our own. For when faced on our own, the world’s

95 P Singer, ‘The drowning child and the expanding circle’, New Internationalist, 1997, retrieved on 20 March 2012 from

http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/199704-‐-‐.htm 96 Ibid.


suffering can appear unending and overwhelming to the point where we give up

everything we have until we arrive in a position just slightly better off than the poorest. As

Singer says:

“If we were to take it seriously, our lives would be changed

dramatically. For while the cost of saving one child’s life by a

donation to an aid organisation may not be great, after you have

donated that sum, there remain more children in need of saving, each

one of whom can be saved at a relatively small additional cost.

Suppose you have just sent $200 to an agency that can, for that

amount, save the life of a child in a developing country who

otherwise would have died. You’ve done something really good, and

all it has cost you is the price of some new clothes you didn’t really

need anyway. Congratulations! But don’t celebrate you good deed by

opening a bottle of champagne, or even going to a movie. The costs

of that bottle or movie, added to what you could save by cutting

down on a few other extravagances, would save the life of another

child. After you forgo those items, and give another $200, though, is

everything else you are spending as important, or nearly as

important, as the life of a child?”97

UNICEF estimates that every year 9.7 million children die of preventable causes. It states,

“the world knows what it takes to improve child health and survival but millions still die

because they lack access to these basic services.”98 Effectively Singer asks us to measure

the value of each of our possessions against the worth of one of these 9.7 million children.

97 P Singer, The life you can save: Acting now to end world poverty, USA, Random House, 2010

98 ‘Children should not be dying from preventable causes’, UNICEF, retrieved on 3 October 2014 from

http://www.unicef.org/why/why_preventable_causes.html


And then if we find in the child’s favour we should give up the possession to save the life

of the child, and that we should continue this course until either all 9.7 million children are

saved, or we have no more possessions worth lesser value than the life of a child to give.

When followed in its entirety, Singer’s analogy requires those in relatively wealthy nations

to sell everything they own in order to make a difference in the lives of those living in

extreme poverty. In other words, to withhold any of our possessions from those in

extreme poverty is to break our moral obligation to them. For Singer, giving to the poor is

not an act of charity; rather it becomes an act of justice.

Whilst we could discuss this further, the main aim of this research is to engage art practice

in this process of investigation and so we shall continue to pursue the outworking of

Singer’s challenge in our analysis of ‘One thing you lack’ in Chapter 7.

Jesus Christ

The second moral precept comes from the Christian teachings of Jesus Christ. Numerous

faith-‐based organisations have arisen to attempt to address issues of global inequality,

poverty and injustice. Many non-‐faith-‐based aid organisations such as one of Singer’s

favourites, Oxfam,99 along with organisations representing a variety of faiths, like Islamic

Relief,100 make a positive contribution to addressing inequality around the world.

However, it is Christian-‐based organisations that make up the vast majority of Australia’s

aid organisations,101 including Australia’s largest international non-‐government

organisation, World Vision.102 This context, along with the other reasons given in the

introduction to this chapter, provided further rationale that when addressing global

inequality from within an Australian context it might be particularly helpful to draw upon

99 ‘The life you can save’, Oxfam, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from http://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/where-‐to-‐donate/oxfam

100 Islamic Relief, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from https://islamic-‐relief.com.au

101 ‘Australia’s aid and development program submission 56’, Church agencies network submission, 6 February 2014, retrieved on 13

June 2015 from http://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=3bdee543-‐e4ec-‐4988-‐a128-‐d4fdb6984f69&subId=32466 102

‘Financials’, ACFID Annual Report 2013, p.23, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from http://www.acfid.asn.au/about-‐acfid/corporate-‐documents/annual-‐report-‐2013


the same Christian teachings that underpin the majority of Australian organisations

working to overcome poverty and injustice.

This section will briefly outline some of Jesus Christ’s teachings on wealth and poverty

followed by how these teachings might interact with those of Singer. Jesus Christ poses a

number of normative challenges around the way we treat others including perhaps most

notably what is famously known as the ‘Golden Rule’,103 expressed in Jesus words in

Matthew 7:12, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for

this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”104

However, when it comes to applied ethics, Jesus also provides us with a very practical and

perhaps more challenging exhortation in the case of a wealthy young man recorded in the

book of Mark and often referred to as the account of ‘The Rich Young Ruler.’ The narrative

also includes the phrase ‘one thing you lack’ from which the title of the performance was

drawn.

17 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his

knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to

inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered.

“No one is good—except God alone.

19 You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not

commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false

testimony, you shall not defraud, honour your father and mother.’”

20 “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

103 W.A. Spooner, "The Golden Rule," in James Hastings, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 6 (New York: Charles Scribner's

Sons, 1914) pp. 310–12, quoted in Rushworth M. Kidder, How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living, Harper, New York, 2003 104

Matthew 7:12


21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said.

“Go, sell everything you have and give it to the poor, and you will

have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great

wealth. 23 Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it

is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”

24 The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again,

“Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier

for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who

is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

26 The disciples were even more amazed, and said to each other,

“Who then can be saved?”

27 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but

not with God; all things are possible with God.”

28 Then Peter spoke up, “We have left everything to follow you!”

29 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or

brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and

the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this

present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—

along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. 105

105 Mark 10:17-‐30


Jesus Christ issues a stern and troubling challenge to the wealthy. Even to many Christians,

the command to “sell everything and give it to the poor” sounds too radical or

immoderate a statement.

However, as Charles Camosy points out, “though Jesus himself rarely speaks of Hell, when

he does so it is almost always connected to a failure of one’s duties to the poor. In

recounting a rich man’s refusal to help a poor beggar, for instance, Jesus notes that the

rich man ends up in torment in Hell (Luke 16:19-‐31). He famously said that the love of

money is the root of evil and that a rich person will struggle to enter the kingdom of God

(Matthew 19:24). And in one of the most important stories of the Christian tradition, Jesus

famously divides the Heaven-‐bound from the Hell-‐bound based on whether or not they

fulfilled duties to ‘the least ones’ in their communities (Matthew 25:31-‐46).”106

There appears to be considerable overlap and agreement between Singer and Jesus on

the topic of inequality and our responsibilities to the poor. This despite Singer’s atheist

position that puts him and Christianity at obvious odds at a foundational level. Another

line of agreement between the two in responding to poverty can be found in Singer’s

suggestion that we give ten percent of our resources to those in absolute poverty, based

on the tithing percentage required by the social welfare mechanism of the age: the

Church,107 which had taken on such a role because they took Jesus’s message so

seriously.108

I was fortunate enough to personally engage with Peter Singer on a number of occasions

after completing my performance ‘One thing you lack.’ Some of his responses to the work

are included in the next chapter. However, during my dialogue with him he referred me to

106 C Camosy, Peter Singer and Christian Ethics, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2012, p.139-‐140.

107 P Singer, The life you can save: Acting now to end world poverty, USA, Random House, 2010 as quoted in C Camosy, Peter Singer and

Christian Ethics, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2012 108

C Camosy, op. cit., p. 140


Charles Camosy’s book, ‘Peter Singer and Christian Ethics – Beyond Polarization’, which

explores the similarities and differences between the ethical views of Singer and the

Christian church, finding common cause on matters such as global poverty and the dignity

of non-‐human animals.109

Camosy says of the approaches of Singer and Christ, “both approaches react strongly

against the violence and injustice that our consumerist and hyper-‐autonomous culture

inflicts on the vulnerable poor. The enormity of what is in common might also suggest yet

another duty: taking advantage of the resources and loyalties proper to each approach

and unleashing their combined power toward the mutual goal of ending absolute poverty

and restoring broad social participation for the poor.”110

Unleashing the combined power of both approaches was exactly what ‘One thing you lack’

attempted to do. The next chapter assesses outcomes of the work in attempting to

achieve this aim.

109 C Camosy, Peter Singer and Christian Ethics, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2012

110 Ibid., p.176


Chapter 7 | Addressing global inequality

This chapter reflects on the impact of ‘One thing you lack’ on global inequality, examining

the more personal impact of the work on myself through the experience of performance,

investigating the effectiveness of the work as a mechanism of redistributing wealth, and

finally, considering how the work raises awareness and education on issues of global

inequality.

Performance

When undertaking a performance like ‘One thing you lack’ it can be difficult to separate

the performance aspect of the work from everyday life. John McDonald writes, “The line

between life and performance is being crossed and recrossed all the time, either

consciously or subliminally.”111 Similarly, Marina Abramovic states, "To be a performance

artist, you have to hate theatre. Theatre is fake… the knife is not real, the blood is not real,

and the emotions are not real. Performance is just the opposite: the knife is real, the

blood is real, and the emotions are real."112

I think it would be immeasurably more difficult to conduct a performance like ‘One thing

you lack’ if you did not genuinely identify with the moral principles expressed within the

work. I had spent many years subconsciously striving for a life of greater utility and then

more consciously mulling over the writings of people like Peter Singer for ways this could

be achieved. I also held a faith in God, a desire to follow the teaching of Jesus and a

personal yearning to make sense of the extreme dichotomy I experienced in my life as an

international aid worker, regularly moving between the extremities of poverty and wealth.

111 J McDonald, ‘Seeing Double’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February 2 2013

112 S O’Hagan, ‘Interview: Marina Abramovic’, The Guardian, 3 October 2010, retrieved on 14 June 2015 from

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/oct/03/interview-‐marina-‐abramovic-‐performance-‐artist


I had therefore toyed with the concept of selling everything and giving it away before it

ever occurred to me to undertake the act as a performance.

I abhorred the thought Plato expressed, that my performance was a pretence that masked

reality.113 For this reason, I remember experiencing the desire that performance should be

nothing more than a stopwatch that you clicked to signify the beginning and end of a

section of life, which was then categorised as an art form after the fact, in the hope of

increasing the sincerity and applicability of the work to everyday living.

However, for all my efforts, I found it impossible to reduce performance to a simple

stopwatch on experience. For better or worse, performance rose up to become a

substantial construct, like scaffolding around my life, through which my experiences could

be perceived and interpreted. This ‘performance construct’ provided a number of benefits

but also various challenges.

The benefits included an easier, although still somewhat difficult, means of explaining my

actions to others. In preparation for the performance I undertook a number of recorded

interview sessions with friends and family as I informed them of my plans to give

everything away. This provided them with opportunities to ask questions and collectively

discuss the possible consequences of the work well before the event. Some of these

interviews would later be used to create another work, ‘Don’t deny us development’ (see

chapter 11).

In this instance, the construct of performance provided increased engagement,

understanding and preparedness for those around me. More than would likely have been

achieved if the act were not planned as a performance artwork. I remember my father

113 Plato, Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6 translated by Paul Shorey, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William

Heinemann Ltd. 1969


saying that he felt this had been helpful for him, although my mother found it difficult to

comprehend asking, “What has this got to do with art?”114

Challenges posed by the performance included an increased bureaucracy that threatened

to prevent the act entirely. The university’s Ethics Committee refused to approve the work

and several months of long email trails followed as I was shifted from faculty member to

faculty member to explain my intentions. Most refused to approve or deny the application

and were somewhat obtuse regarding their reasons, preferring to refer it onward and

upward. The main contention appeared to be around the dangers of living on the street.

My proposal stated that selling everything may result in me being homeless, and there

was an apparent fear that I might sue the university if anything untoward came of me in

such circumstances, regardless of the fact that I had undertaken the act of my own accord.

At one point I was referred for personal discussions with the University of New South

Wale’s own legal adviser. She warmly approved the work; particularly in light of the risk

management framework I had provided the Ethics Committee with my application.115

However, this didn’t suffice for overall approval. When the Head of School referred me

onto the Dean, and I knew I would be required to explain my entire saga again, just weeks

before my scheduled performance, I relented. I edited my proposal removing any

reference to living on the street as part of the performance and it was approved. I

personally remained open to the possibility of living on the street, if that was where the

performance led, but as such it would no longer be included in my art research with the

university.

Discussions with the Head of School after the performance revealed that her reticence to

approve the work stemmed from the possibility that if the university were sued for some

114 A & E Moore, personal communication, 7 July 2012

115 C Kirby, personal communication, 15 August 2012


reason, she was personally open to litigation and could perhaps lose her house.116 I was

understanding of the challenges the work posed for the university but felt the experience

highlighted a stark irony whereby the ethical implications for the safety of one student

had threatened to prevent an act that sought to address a perhaps much larger ethical

challenge of global inequality that affected millions of people.

I will outline more of my personal experiences during the performance in the context of

how they relate to the redistribution of wealth and developing awareness in the next two

sections. However, it is impossible to condense the many personal challenges and

enlightening moments I experienced into this single thesis. Some further examples can be

found in the news articles in appendix 2 and, in particular, the piece I wrote six months

after the exhibition entitled ‘Reflections of a man who sold everything and gave it to the

poor’.117

Redistribution of wealth

‘One thing you lack’ raised a total of $17,590.86, which was donated to the work of Global

Concern. In the six months following the exhibition, funds raised were used to support

numerous social development programs throughout Africa and Asia. It was enough to

cover the full operational costs of a rural Togolese medical clinic, which delivered tens of

babies, immunised hundreds of children and treated hundreds of patients from life

threatening conditions like malaria and cholera.

It was enough to provide further funding to food security programs in Malawi and Zambia,

training poor farmers in conservation farming methods, nutrition, gender and HIV/Aids, all

of which is enabling them to become self-‐sufficient and feed their families all year round.

And enough to further support sewing classes for impoverished women in India and

116 S Ross, personal communication, 2 June 2013

117 A Moore, ‘Reflections of a man who sold everything and gave it to the poor’, Bible Society, 1 July 2013, retrieved on 8 July 2015 from

http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/reflections-‐of-‐a-‐man-‐who-‐sold-‐everything-‐and-‐gave-‐it-‐to-‐the-‐poor


Bangladesh, providing them an opportunity to secure work, increase their incomes and

pay for necessities like food, toiletries, medical costs and school fees for their children. As

Global Concern’s Overseas Projects Manager, I was able to visit some of these

communities after the exhibition and see, hear and confirm their stories of change first

hand. Some of these individuals were even included in later artworks like ‘Don’t deny us

development’ and ‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.’

As well as the funds donated through the purchase of my goods, others decided to donate

to the cause directly. Under The Sydney Morning Herald article reporting on my exhibition,

one reader going by the name of ‘Inspired’ commented, “I considered logging on to buy

one of his items but why should I be the one who is condoning consumerism? I donated

instead. Good cause, and great way to bring this to people's attention. I will also be

reading the Singer article. Well done.”118

This was an irony that several people identified within the performance. That in order to

successfully sell everything and give it away, I needed others to buy everything. Some

managed this dichotomy in the same way as ‘Inspired’ by refusing to buy my items and

instead donating directly to the cause. However a more common means of addressing this

challenge was for people to buy items and then give them back to me. In the weeks,

months and even years after my exhibition I received gifts, sometimes for Christmas or my

birthday, comprised of my own old items gifted back to me. Indeed at the end of my

exhibition I already owned a handful of clothes, toiletries and even a couple of Bibles

bought and then re-‐gifted to me.

This was one of the unforeseen responses to my performance that I had little control over.

It also resulted in a breaking down of some of my own regulations within the

118 S Berry, ‘Could you sell every possession you own?’ The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 December 2012, retrieved on 7 July 2015 from

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/could-‐you-‐sell-‐every-‐possession-‐you-‐own-‐20121204-‐2asns.html


performance, such as those surrounding tensions that I might be supporting the plight of

the poor at the expense of my family and friends, a scenario I tried in vain to avoid. I

stated that I would accept neither food nor shelter from them. If need be, I would sleep

on the street. But these self-‐imposed rules soon became untenable. When people began

buying things with the intention of giving them back at a later stage I gave up. What did it

matter if I kept all my rules but had no room for love? The exhibition was possible because

the people around me helped me to move, buy and sell everything I own in the hope of

making a difference in the lives of the poor. The end result was strengthened relationships

with friends and family as we bonded together in greater solidarity to help those less

fortunate than ourselves.

The items remaining after the exhibition, including pieces of furniture, clothes and books,

were all donated to the Salvation Army. I estimated their value at a few thousand dollars.

Money raised from the sale of these items through the Salvation Army went towards

Salvation Army charity programs such as the Oasis Youth Service, which provides

accommodation to homeless youth in inner city Sydney.119

After delivering all my goods to the Salvation Army, I returned the following day with a

borrowed camera to document my goods. It is a strange feeling to walk around a thrift

store looking at your own possessions up for sale. As I mentioned previously, the Salvation

Army store manager basically accepted everything except for a few boxes of documents,

which were later used in the artwork ‘The thinker’s chair’. The vast majority of my

possessions are gone forever. Whilst I could have, I never returned to the Salvation Army

store to buy back the items I left. In my mind I had already cut ties with them.

119 ‘Salvation Army Thrift Stores’, Salvation Army, retrieved on 7 July 2015 from http://www.thriftstore.ca/manitoba/salvation-‐army-‐

thrift-‐store-‐faqs


I remember receiving a phone call from a stranger a couple of weeks after the exhibition.

He had come across a large batch of my paintings along with hundreds of life drawings laid

out in the Salvation Army thrift store. He obtained my contact details from the back of one

of the paintings and called me, reaching me on a used phone my mother had given me to

‘keep in contact’. He couldn’t understand what had occurred. Over the telephone he told

me he imagined that I must have experienced some kind of dramatic event or deep

depression that had caused me to rid myself of my art and perhaps throw away my

practice. He apparently liked a number of the works and had purchased them. He was

intrigued as I explained the concept of ‘One thing you lack’ to him, and I was warmed by

his personal interest and concern for me.

‘One thing you lack’ is a clear example of how art can be used to redistribute wealth. The

exhibition saw wealth redistributed through the sale of items at exhibition, the donation

of items to the Salvation Army, and even individual’s direct donations to charity. This

redistributed wealth resulted in hundreds, if not thousands, of lives changed for the better

through the good work of charities and their programs for the poor and underprivileged.

In this way, the artwork was able to effectively address some of the most prominent

issues of global inequality in the lives of some of the world’s poorest.

Awareness and advocacy

‘One thing you lack’ raised public awareness around issues of global inequality with an

opening night attendance of a few hundred people. The performance generated articles

leading up to the exhibition in The Sydney Morning Herald, Bible Society, Art Life, and The

Leader, along with a longer follow up piece with the Bible Society six months after the

exhibition and a television interview on Wesley Impact. Copies of each of these articles

along with a link to the television program can be found in appendix 2.

Further discussion and awareness was generated through online media, where people

shared articles and posted comments (some of these comments are also available in


appendix 2). The online comments section of The Sydney Morning Herald, for example,

canvassed a range of views and responses. When I revealed my internal struggle to sell an

old watch my father received at his graduation and then gave me as a child, one person

called the act of selling it an “insult to your own heritage” and a “vile thing to do”.120 Yet

another labelled the performance a “mind blowing” demonstration that encouraged her

to purchase this year’s Christmas presents from a charity gift store.121 This was clear

evidence that the work was not only creating awareness and open dialogue but also

inspiring real change in the actions of others.

Over two years later, online discussion was still continuing around the performance when

a participant posted this image (see fig. 15) and comment on Facebook:

“So, the story here. I just finished this bottle of aftershave, which I bought about 2 years

ago, half used, from a life sale. Like a sale where this guy sold absolutely everything he

owned and gave all the proceeds to charity. I'm trying to remember his name. Ben

Williams can u help me out?”122

120 S Berry, ‘Could you sell every possession you own?’ The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 December 2012, retrieved on 14 June 2015 from

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/could-‐you-‐sell-‐every-‐possession-‐you-‐own-‐20121204-‐2asns.html 121

Ibid. 122

S Roberts, Facebook, retrieved on 14 June 2015 from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152571850051881&set=a.10150947323661881.410005.585921880&type=1


Figure 15 -‐ Aftershave purchased from 'One thing you lack'123

A discussion ensued below the post, which I contributed to after a mutual friend

connected us (see appendix 2). These incidents appeared to demonstrate that the work

was having a wide impact, well beyond my immediate connections, and also sustained

longevity in its ability to encourage people to contemplate and wrestle with the issues at

hand.

It would be wrong to assume that all feedback was positive. One reader, going by the

name ‘3FS’, commented under The Sydney Morning Herald article that the fact that I

wasn’t planning to continue a lifestyle without possessions meant the performance was

123 S Roberts, Facebook, retrieved on 14 June 2015 from

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152571850051881&set=a.10150947323661881.410005.585921880&type=1


simply a publicity stunt.124 This kind of cynicism is not uncommon with regard to artist’s

who choose to support any kind of cause, and is perhaps one of the greater personal

challenges for the artist themselves. Ben Quilty underwent severe online criticism and

attack when he began using his art skills and standing to mentor and advocate for,

Myuran Sukumaran, an inmate awaiting capital punishment in Indonesia.125 Some went so

far as to suggest that he had intentionally befriended Sukumaran in order to generate

publicity for his career. Jacky J Jones, for example, commented, “I really hate to be

cynical... but knowing a thing or two about artists. He's doing it to further his career. He's

hitching a ride on the back of a huge international story... and by doing so... cementing

himself in the public eye as a compassionate caring human being... oh... but he's also an

artist! I see right through it.”126

Others have posed more constructive questions, such as whether or not charities are an

effective way of alleviating poverty. It is a positive sign when these kinds of questions are

raised for open dialogue in the public sphere. But whilst this discussion sits within my area

of personal expertise, it is outside the realms of this thesis and cannot be adequately

covered here. Suffice to say that there are good and bad means of undertaking

development and some organisations are better than others. I believe the fact that

effective charities do exist and can easily be identified means this should not pose any

significant challenge to our moral obligation to help the poor. As I have shared, my role

with Global Concern enabled me to witness first-‐hand the effectiveness of the funds

raised and hear the stories of those whose lives were changed, even documenting them in

further art works for public exhibition.

124 S Berry, ‘Could you sell every possession you own?’ The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 December 2012, retrieved on 14 June 2015 from

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/could-‐you-‐sell-‐every-‐possession-‐you-‐own-‐20121204-‐2asns.html 125

J Jones, in N Pasolcer, Video 2:45 Indonesia executions: Australian artist Ben Quilty and Myuran Sukumaran, 19 January 2015, retrieved 20 July 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrbloAaW9cQ 126

Ibid.


The news of my exhibition spread to the point where Peter Singer himself heard about it. I

had a conversation with a stranger who mentioned that her friend had entered a

fundraiser for a local charity. She had raised enough funds to win a prize of dinner with

Peter Singer and Justice Michael Kirby organised by the charity. She relayed that my

exhibition had come up as a point of dinner conversation with Singer and Kirby during the

night. Peter Singer later confirmed that was the case.127 It was encouraging to think that

my work might have been adding to the conversations of people of the likes of Singer and

Kirby.

Furthermore, a documentary maker who was recording my experiences during the

exhibition took it upon herself to contact Peter Singer and organise a meeting between us.

Thanks to her efforts we were able to connect in a lengthy interview and dialogue over

Skype. Singer was particularly impressed by the work stating, ‘I think that it’s terrific… I

think what Aaron has done is a challenge, it shocks us into reflecting on our situation and

that’s what an artist ought to be doing, I mean if contemporary art is worth anything then

I think it ought to be wakening us up to the situation of the world we are living in and

that’s what I see Aaron as doing.”128

We have remained in contact ever since. Singer went on to reference my performance in a

series of lectures he gave at Yale later in the year.129 He also included my exhibition in his

most recent book, ‘The most good you can do: how affective altruism is changing ideas

about living ethically’.130

Overall, ‘One thing you lack’s’ success in opening a dialogue around issues relating to

global inequality is evidenced by the broad range of people that engaged with the work

127 P Singer, personal communication, 20 December 2012

128 Ibid.

129 Ibid.

130 P Singer, The most good you can do: how affective altruism is changing ideas about living ethically, Yale University Press, 2015


and the examples of continued engagement that occur even now, over two years on.

Many of those examples of increased awareness also resulted in clear changes in

behaviour, such as the woman who bought her Christmas gifts from a charity store, and

the gentleman who donated directly to charity to help the poor. It therefore appears clear

that works of art like this can address issues of global inequality by challenging and

changing both the way we think and the way we act.


PART 2 | THE ART OF GLOBAL INEQUALITY

Chapter 8: Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances

Chapter 9: The chronicles of everything owned (and sold) and Stuff self

Chapter 10: A place to think

Chapter 11: Don’t deny us development

Chapter 12: Those who can’t fly


Chapter 8 | Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances

This chapter explores the work ‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances’ by giving

an overview of the artwork, outlining artists who influenced the work, and investigating

the ways in which the work addresses issues of global inequality.

Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances

‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances’ is a series of portraits depicting people

with their favourite possession (see fig. 16 & 17). All the subjects live in rural areas of

Africa earning average incomes of less than $1.25 a day and thereby qualify as living in

extreme poverty according to World Bank definitions.131

Portraits of parents valuing their children, or holding mobile phones and bicycles,

communicate that the subjects of poverty are not unlike us. That whilst we live on

opposite sides of the world and have vastly different access to resources and

opportunities, we share a common humanity and even some common experiences.

131 ‘Poverty overview’, World Bank, USA, 6 April 2015, retrieved on 15 June 2015 from

http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview


Figure 16 -‐ 'Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances', Aaron Moore (2015) | Left: Esther Chewa, Malawi, "My

favourite possession is my radio because it lets me know what is happening around the world" | Right: Alice Kmunga,

Malawi, "My favourite possession is my bucket because I can use it to keep clean and healthy”

However, the landscape of the images is strange and unique. The flesh of the individuals

is of normal pigment, but their surroundings are surreal. The images encourage the viewer

to question the circumstances in which these individuals find themselves, rather than to

question the individuals. In many ways the subjects are just ordinary people, but their

circumstances are extraordinary in the sense that they are expected to live on less than a

few dollars per day. The images remind us that whilst the individuals are like us, it is not

their fault that they have so little access to wealth and opportunity but rather a result of

their environment.


Figure 17 -‐ 'Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances', Aaron Moore (2015) | Left: Grace Banda, Zambia, “My

favourite possession is my hoe because it brings food into my home” | Centre: Lillian Zulu, Zambia, "My favourite

possession is my container of water because water is life” | Right: Memory Banda, Zambia, “My favourite possession

is my mobile phone because it enables me to communicate with relatives and friends”

‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances’ aims to provide a different perspective

on the lives of the poor, to challenge some of our previously held assumptions around

poverty, and to encourage us think about the lives of those who bear the brunt of global

inequality.

Influencing artists

Several artists have sought to build stronger connections between the viewer and their

subjects by depicting subjects with their possessions. Gabriele Galimberti’s project ‘Toy

stories’ depicts children from around the world with their toys (see fig. 18).132 Initially, he

was not planning to uncover much we did not already know, “At their age they are pretty

much all the same,” is his conclusion after 18 months working on the project, “They just

want to play.” But he did note differences in how they played, “The richest children were

132 G Galimberti, Toy Stories, retrieved on 14 September 2014 from http://www.gabrielegalimberti.com/projects-‐2/toys-‐2


more possessive. At the beginning, they wouldn’t want me to touch their toys, and I would

need more time before they would let me play with them,” says the Italian, who would

often join in with a child’s games before arranging the toys and taking the photograph. “In

poor countries it was much easier. Even if they only had two or three toys, they didn’t

really care. In Africa, the kids would mostly play with their friends outside.”133

Figure 18 -‐ 'Toy stories', Gabriele Galimberti (2004) 134

Galimberti’s project gives a clear comparison of the lives of children in relation to their

most treasured possessions, their toys. What makes it most interesting is the fact that he

does so on a global scale, photographing children throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and the

Americas. His work gives us an insight into global inequality from a unique perspective.

Firstly, it demonstrates a clear ‘toy inequality’ exists when it comes to the number of toys

possessed by children around the world. But more interestingly, the inequality does not

appear to be reflected in the attitudes of the children. Galimberti’s comments over the

process of making the portraits suggest that those with the least toys were the least

possessive.

On 8 August 2013, Melanie Beresford opened her exhibition ‘Safekeeping’, which explores

133 B Marchell, ‘Toy stories’, The Times Magazine, 26 May 2012

134 G Galimberti, Toy Stories, retrieved on 14 September 2014 from http://www.gabrielegalimberti.com/projects-‐2/toys-‐2


attachment theory, capturing a sense of where members of western society locate their

security and how they deal with its inevitable loss. Beresford’s work investigates

connections with possessions in a similar way to Landy, Boorman, and Joffe (discussed in

Chapter 4). For example, in ‘60 seconds’ a series of drawings are developed in response to

a survey in which people were asked which three items they would save if their home was

burning to the ground. The entire exhibition revolves around Beresford’s own experience

as a child when her family lost part of their home and possessions in a house fire.135

In answer to the survey subjects posed with their favourite shoes, their pet bird, a camera,

bag or coffee mug (see fig. 19). Although a first-‐hand conversation with Beresford reveals

that the most popular item to save is a laptop,136 the sketches open a conversation about

the relationship between people and possessions, what is most important to them, and

provides an insight into what is important to society at large.

135 M Beresford, Safekeeping, Kudos Gallery, 8 August 2012, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from

http://www.melanieberesford.com/category/60-‐seconds/ 136

M Beresford, personal communication, 1 December 2012


Figure 19 -‐ '60 seconds', Melanie Beresford (2012) 137

Global inequality

‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances’ aims to challenge the two simplistic

narratives commonly used to represent the poor. The first presents the poor as sad,

empty-‐handed victims. A Google search for ‘poor people’ will reveal this picture as the

dominant visual representation of people in poverty (see fig. 20). The second narrative is

one of happy, smiling people as the beneficiaries of aid and development, sometimes

captured with a well or chicken received from an aid organisation.138 Author, Chimamanda

Ngozi Adichie, shares on the dangers of such simplistic narratives, especially when it

137 M Beresford, ‘60 seconds’, Melanie Beresford, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from http://www.melanieberesford.com/category/60-‐

seconds 138

‘Helping people help themselves’, Oxfam, retrieved on 8 July 2015 from https://www.oxfam.org.au/explore/helping-‐people-‐help-‐themselves/


comes to stories of poverty,139 where it can lead to misunderstanding, a lack of respect for

agency, and what some call ‘donor fatigue,’140 a desensitization to the issue resulting from

repetitive communication or visual representation of the problem.

Figure 20 -‐ The first page of a Google image search for 'poor people'141

‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances’ addresses these challenges through two

key methods. Firstly, rather than representing the poor empty handed or with a gift

received from a charity, it captures them with their favourite possession. This provided

the subjects with a sense of agency around how they were represented. They were able to

139 C Adichie, ‘The danger of a single story’, TED talks, July 2009, retrieved on 8 July 2015 from

http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en 140

Donor fatigue, Dictionary.com, retrieved on 8 July 2015 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/donor+fatigue 141

‘poor people’, Google images, retrieved on 10 March 2015 from https://www.google.com.au/search?q=poor+people&biw=1963&bih=1280&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIoYa21p_fxgIVKNymCh0Phgul


influence the narrative used to portray them by identifying the item they most liked and

posing in the manner of their choosing. Like the work of Gabriele Galimberti, it also gave a

unique insight into the personalities and lives of the subjects themselves. This enables

viewers to identify people as individuals instead of a homogenous mass, but can also

result in some images grating against previously held conceptions of what the poor should

look like.

‘Poor people’ holding mobile phones, or standing in front of houses that are not made

from mud, for instance, can challenge our notions of what constitutes poor. Further

emphasising this aspect is the fact that villagers will generally dress up in their best

clothes, or even borrow clothes from others, for the occasion of my visit. Resulting in the

images representing the subjects at ‘their best,’ a representation that doesn’t often suit

the previously noted simplistic narratives, but does provide a truth and dignity that should

be told.

Secondly, the images aim to encourage the viewer to see afresh the difficult environment

these people inhabit. An environment the Western world may have become desensitized

to. The solarised colours of the images encourage us to question the context in which

these people find themselves. As mentioned in the description, the flesh of the individuals

is normal, but their surroundings are surreal. The images encourage the viewer to accept

the individual but question a somewhat unbelievable world where people are expected to

live on less than a few dollars a day.

‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances’ examines the more nuanced

complexities of poverty. It’s hoped that these images have a re-‐balancing effect on the

viewer. A most valued possession in the form of a large bucket is proudly displayed as a

sign of wealth and success but instead leads the viewer to ponder the relative poverty of

the same individual and the basic nature of the few other possessions they must own. This

artwork is not prescriptive of the means by which we should help alleviate poverty, it


simply aims to respectfully awaken us to the disparity between the rich and poor, to help

us identify with the poor, to encourage us to question the circumstances of the poor

rather than the people themselves, and to hopefully look afresh on a subject that we may

have become desensitised to.


Chapter 9 | The chronicles of everything owned (and sold)

& Stuff self

This chapter explores the works ‘The Chronicles of everything owned (and sold)’ and ‘Stuff

self’ by giving an overview of each work, outlining the artists who influenced the works,

and examining how the works address issues of global inequality.

The chronicles of everything owned (and sold)

‘The chronicles of everything owned (and sold)’ (see fig. 21) is a photographic record of

every item in my possession on the 4 December 2012. The photographs have been

arranged as slides in a short video that flashes each of the objects before the viewer in the

fraction of a second. In the space of several minutes we witness one man’s every

possession flash before our eyes.

Figure 21 – ‘The chronicles of everything owned (and sold),’ (video stills), Aaron Moore (2015)


Stuff self

Figure 22 -‐ 'Stuff self', Aaron Moore (2015)

‘Stuff self’ (see fig. 22 & 23) is comprised of photographs of every item I owned, 1,506 in

total, on 4 December 2012. The photographs are arranged in such a way as to create a

mosaic like portrait of myself. In their entirety they provide a visual insight into my


material life, but also perhaps an insight into who I am, the books I read, the food I like,

the clothes I wear, the bike I ride, the sports I play etc.

Figure 23 -‐ 'Stuff self' (detail), Aaron Moore (2015)

Influencing artists

Huang Qingjun travelled throughout rural and remote China for a decade photographing

families with their possessions (see fig. 24). It appears quite a feat to convince strangers,

some who have never been photographed in their life, to move all their possessions

outside their home in order to pose for a portrait.


Huang says, "Most people thought what I was proposing was not normal. When I

explained I wanted to set up a photo, that it would involve taking everything out of their

house and setting it up outside, that took quite a lot of explaining. But almost all of them,

when they realised what I was trying to do, they understood the point."142

Figure 24 -‐ Huang Qingjun's photos of people and their possessions (2012)143

Huang believes that, "From the possessions each family uses in their daily lives, you get a

good sense of the real levels of life for China's people."144 I hope that in a similar sense

‘The chronicles of everything owned (and sold)’ is able to provide an insight into the real

level of life I enjoy. That the work provides a practical breakdown of what wealth looks

like in my circumstance.

Furthermore, that by viewing the work in the context of other works like ‘Ordinary people

in extraordinary circumstances’ the extreme inequality of our world will move into stark

relief. When viewed in context of each other, one woman holds up her most valued hoe or

water container, whilst hundreds of my possessions stream past in quick succession, many

142 A Foster, ‘Chinese family’s worldly good in Huang Qingjun’s pictures’, BBC News, 23 September 2012, accessed on 19 September

2014 from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-‐19648095 143

Ibid. 144

Ibid.


of which these women could never hope to own in their lifetime.

Yet Huang’s photographs also provide an insight into the social change taking place in the

lives of some of the poorest citizens of one of the world’s fastest growing economies.

Satellite dishes and DVD players laid bare outside mud houses challenge the simple

dichotomy of rich and poor that so easily plays out in our minds. The fact that some of the

favoured possessions in ‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances’ also resemble

items in ‘Stuff self’, demonstrate that there may be more in common between the

possessions of the rich and poor than we might think, or perhaps the differences that do

exist are not those we first expected.

Global inequality

‘The chronicles of everything owned (and sold)’ aims to use art to address issues of global

inequality through building a greater awareness of what that inequality looks like. It aims

to improve our self-‐awareness around how much we actually own and how wealthy we

are. By doing so, it hopes to make people aware of the great power to affect change

afforded us by our many possessions.

‘Stuff self’ investigates the connection between what we own and who we are. People

generally find it difficult to give up their possessions, not merely because of their material

worth, but due to what these items represent and the role they play in building our

identity. If we can recognise how our search for identity is causing us to consume

inaudible amounts of wealth, then perhaps we can shift the source of our identity and use

that same wealth and possessions to address issues of global inequality for the practical

good of others and ourselves.

Both works encourages us to reflect on the great wealth we have and how it can be used

to define ourselves or to help others. The works encourage viewers to think what their

own self-‐portrait of possessions might look like. Would it be bigger than the image before

them? More elaborate? Would they be proud of the image created? Would they be proud


of such an identity in the context of this exhibition? If the selling of the objects in ‘Stuff

self’ and ‘The chronicles of everything owned (and sold)’ could fund the operation of a

medical clinic for six months, delivering babies, vaccinating hundreds of children, treating

hundreds for malaria and other diseases in one of the poorest regions in the world, what

power lies within their own self portrait of possessions?


Chapter 10 | The thinker’s chair

This chapter examines the work ‘The thinker’s chair’ by providing an overview of the

artwork, outlining artists who influenced it, and investigating how the work addresses

issues of global inequality.

The thinker’s chair

In the wake of ‘One thing you lack’, and selling everything I owned, there were some

objects that remained. These items were left both unsold during the exhibition and

considered of no value by the Salvation Army store, where all other unsold exhibition

items were donated. ‘The thinker’s chair’ is an artwork made from those remaining items

(see fig. 25).

Figure 25 -‐ 'The thinker's chair', Aaron Moore (2013)


‘The thinker’s chair’ includes personal photographs, identification documents, study

notes, tax file information, university transcripts, a signed high school shirt and personal

letters. Unlike Landy, Boorman, and Joffe, (discussed in Chapter 4) the aim of ‘One thing

you lack’ was not to rid myself of possessions, but rather to use my possessions, through

their sale or donation, to address issues of poverty and global inequality. The items that

remained and comprise ‘The thinker’s chair’ were therefore deemed of no value with

respect to this end of sale or donation for the benefit of the poor.

In the first instance, items were identified as having no value with respect to sale when

the general public refused to purchase them for any sum of money (literally even one

cent). For example, all my personal documents and photographs were placed on sale for

one dollar each, or less if bargained for (see fig. 26). Some were purchased but the vast

majority were heavily perused but remained unsold.

Figure 26 -‐ Documents for sale at one dollar each as part of 'One thing you lack'

In the second instance, items were identified as having no value with respect to donation

when the Salvation Army store manager refused to accept them. To be honest, the

Salvation Army accepted many more items than I expected, as I shared in Chapter 3.


I also personally went through the remaining items to see if there might be anything of

possible value to the poor with whom I might have direct and immediate contact. I placed

a few remaining toiletries into a box and drove them down to Woolloomooloo where I

was aware a homeless community lived. I struck up a conversation with a number of the

homeless laying under the cover of a bridge. I asked them if they were interested in the

box of items. They looked through the box and said they were and accepted it in its

entirety.

What remained was therefore of little value to anyone, except of course myself. A large

number of cards, letters and photographs contained within the boxes held sentimental

value. And other items were more beneficial on a practical level, for example recent x-‐

rays of my neck would be helpful for later health checks and the original and only copy of

my registered Australian Business Number documentation was also within the files along

with a vast gamut of other financial and personal details. This also raised issues of identity

theft, but I had already resolved that I was willing to sell these items to raise funds if they

were saleable. Many of the items that remained appeared so intrinsically embedded and

linked with my identity that they were of little use to anyone else.

There were therefore a considerably small number of items that remained after ‘One

thing you lack’. I had largely cut ties with all the items in the process of the sale, so I

placed them in a few boxes and left them. A number of months later, when I had a desire

to create more art but owned very few art materials, I decided to pull out the few boxes

and use them.

Influencing artists

‘The thinker’s chair’ is inspired by Auguste Rodin’s ‘The thinker’ (see fig. 27). ‘The thinker’

was originally part of the compositional piece Rodin created as an entranceway for the


proposed Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris. This piece, known as ‘The Gates of Hell,’ is

based on the 16th century epic poem, ‘The Divine Comedy’ by Dante Alighieri.145 In fact

‘The thinker’ was formerly called ‘The poet’, perhaps representing Dante himself.146 During

its use as a public monument in Paris in 1906 it came to represent France’s socialist

movement during a time of political and social upheaval, and is commonly seen as a

symbol of philosophy and learning today.147

Figure 27 -‐ 'The thinker', Auguste Rodin (1906) 148

145 ‘The Thinker’, Artble, retrieved on 9 July 2015 from http://www.artble.com/artists/auguste_rodin/sculpture/the_thinker

146 Ibid.

147 Ibid.

148 ’Now that's something to ponder: Auguste Rodin's The Thinker sells for a record $15.3 million at auction’, The Daily Mail, 9 May 2013, retrieved on 16 July 2015 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2321349/Auguste-Rodins-The-Thinker-sells-record-15-3-million-auction.html


I felt a personal connection with the image of ‘The thinker’ after conducting ‘One thing

you lack.’ The process had been one of intense reasoning throughout the performance,

which only continued in its aftermath. Like ‘The thinker’ surveying hell from its gates, I felt

I had surveyed some of the darkest and most challenging aspects of humanity, pondering

their significance through both philosophy and art. ‘The thinker’s chair’ provided me with

a place to continue this journey and to invite others to sit and share in it.

Global inequality

‘The thinker’s chair’ aims to address issues of global inequality by serving as a reminder of

what the cost of following ideals that lead to greater inequality might look like. It reminds

us that we can live out the ideals of Peter Singer and Jesus Christ and our lives will not

disintegrate, but that in fact, such ideals can enhance the lives we live.

On a purely practical level, ‘The thinker’s chair’ provides an interesting insight into the

actual impact of following the ideals reflected in ‘One thing you lack’. It provides a

response to our inquisitive musings on questions like, “What would really happen if we

followed such ideals?” and “If you tried to sell everything, would you really be left with

nothing?” and “Might following such ideals mean we become just like the poor

ourselves?” These questions are usually discussed in an ethereal and philosophical

manner, often leading to rather unsatisfactory answers due to the inability to foresee the

impact of a decision that so heavily counters our present culture.

The response of ‘The thinker’s chair’ to these challenges appears to be, “No you won’t

lose everything,” and, “No you won’t become just like the poor themselves.” This

provides a firmer basis from which further discussion can continue around if we are willing

to accept the impacts resulting from following such ideals. ‘The thinker’s chair’ therefore

acts as a reminder that we can follow the high ideals of Jesus Christ and Peter Singer and

what they will cost us. It reminds us of what we leave and what remains and it informs our

discussion around the way we might like to live.


On a more abstract level, ‘The thinker’s chair’ was representative of all the thinking and

introspection I had experienced throughout ‘One thing you lack’ and the months

thereafter. The process of following Peter Singer and Jesus Christ’s ideals may have left

me with very little from a practical perspective, but the thinking, learning and growing I

had experienced personally were invaluable. The artwork therefore uses the largely

unimportant tangible items that remain to allude to the far more important intangible

ones. Peter Singer and Jesus Christ left me with a place to sit and grapple with our

response to poverty and inequality. ‘The thinker’s chair’ reminds us that these ideals were

lived out once and can be lived out again.


Chapter 11 | Don’t deny us development

This chapter examines the work ‘Don’t deny us development’ by giving an overview of the

artwork, outlining the artists who influenced it, and assessing ways in which the work

addresses issues of global inequality.

Don’t deny us development

‘Don’t deny us development’ (see fig. 28, 29, 30 & 33) examines different perspectives in

the discussion on global inequality. The multi-‐channel video work collates views from a

number of Australian’s each raising a challenge, story or personal experience in their

understanding of poverty and their struggle with issues around global inequality.

Figure 28 -‐ 'Don't deny us development' (video still), Aaron Moore (2015)

Each of the videos was filmed during collective sittings with friends or family where I

informed them of my plan to undertake my performance ‘One thing you lack’. After telling


them that I was going to sell everything I owned and give it to the poor, discussions

ensued around the relevance and reasonableness of the act, and more broadly the many

concerns surrounding wealth, poverty and global inequality. Most of these discussions

lasted for one to two hours, resulting in copious amounts of video footage, however only

one short point or perspective from six of the discussions was included in this work. Each

perspective is limited to less than one or two minutes and plays in a loop on its own

screen.

The work also includes the voice of poor Zambian farmers, who give their own perspective

on global inequality by requesting through song and dance that they not be denied social

development (see fig. 29). This video was recorded during my role undertaking aid and

development work in Africa and forms the centrepiece around which the other six screens

play.


All the videos are displayed on analogue television monitors. The televisions themselves


were all reclaimed from curb sides during local council rubbish collections in Sydney.

Because each screen rolls concurrently it is also fitted with headphones allowing the

viewer to listen to each perspective separately.


Influencing artists

‘Don’t deny us development’ was influenced and inspired by Kate Murphy’s ‘Prayers of a

mother’149 in which eight children are depicted listening to their mother as she describes

her life of prayer (see fig. 31). The multi-‐channel work is displayed on five monitors and

captures Murphy’s mother and siblings.

149 K Murphy, ‘Prayers of a mother’, Museum of Contemporary Art, 1999, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from

https://mca.com.au/collection/work/20076/


Figure 31 -‐ 'Prayers of a mother', Kate Murphy (1999) 150

The central monitor displays only her mother’s hands resting on a prayer book with

rosemary beads as she recounts her prayers for the wellbeing of her children. The

surrounding four monitors rotate between Murphy and each of her siblings as they listen

silently to their mother, revealing responses from empathy to humour, and surprise to

sadness.151

The video piece gives an insight into the different perspectives of each of the eight

children as well as a portrait of a mother with a strong devotion to her family and religion.

‘Don’t deny us development’ is not a religious work, instead it draws on the parallels of

multi-‐channel digital portraiture contained in ‘Prayers of a mother’. I wanted to create

something of a digital portrait of global inequality and its many facets, to capture the

personal struggles and responses of different individuals to the challenges of wealth and

poverty.

150 K Murphy, ‘Prayers of a mother’, Museum of Contemporary Art, 1999, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from

https://mca.com.au/collection/work/20076/ 151

Ibid.


‘Don’t deny us development’ focuses its central screen on the lives of the poor and

vulnerable, but shares this image as only one of multiple perspectives on global inequality,

inviting the perspectives of others to engage with the former, sometimes in agreement

and empathy, sometimes in a sense of envy of a simpler life, sometimes in frustration at

their own experiences of consumerism and the apparent injustices of the world in which

they find themselves. Each perspective provides an open and honest account of a

different individual’s experience with global inequality.

Global inequality

‘Don’t deny us development’ aims to address global inequality by increasing self-‐

awareness and understanding around responses to poverty and opening viewers to

growth and change in the way they personally engage with the complicated challenge of

global inequality.

The conduit through which these messages come is itself a reflection on the consumerism

of our society in the face of great poverty. All the televisions in the artwork were sourced

from the rubbish collections of Sydney homes, and whilst out-‐dated by the upgrading of

digital media, they all still work in their own right. I took photographs of each television

surrounded by refuse on the curbside where I found it (see fig. 32) and experimented with

interspersing these images with the footage of each subject to further emphasise this

aspect of a consumerist society within which the discussion is taking place. However, I

found the images to be somewhat distracting and confusing. None-‐the-‐less, the fact

remains that our own waste is communicating the artwork’s messages to us, reminding

the viewer that the discussion isn’t merely an abstract concept, but is having very real

consequences in the lives of people in the present.


Figure 32 -‐ Found televisions used to display 'Don't deny us development'

The video works capture honest insights from people dealing openly with the challenge of

living in a globalized world, where they are aware of the needs of those in extreme

poverty, but often find themselves torn by the tensions of society, their own personal and

family needs, and the complexity of it all. By doing so, the work aims to avoid a one-‐sided,

dictatorial, polemic on the subject.

Like ‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances’ this work tries to provide a more

nuanced perspective on the complexities of global inequality and open up a fruitful

dialogue rather than railroading any and all opposition. For example, one video clip

includes a young man expressing his frustration around his desire to live more simply and

own a cheaper car but feeling pressured to meet the expectations of his workplace to

drive a certain type of vehicle in order to be accepted and even ‘listened’ to within his

working circle. Another woman tells her story of giving away much of what she owned to

the poor but then becoming caught up in materialism as her lack of possessions ironically

transformed her into the perfect consumer.



The work investigates how the aid and development sector provides us with a means to

address extreme poverty but also provides us with new and challenging choices in how we

live and love in a globalized society. International aid and development as we know it

today is less than sixty years old.152 Previously our awareness of inequalities that existed

on a global scale, and more so, our capacity to address them, was vastly limited.

Today we are acutely aware of the suffering of others beamed into our homes and lives

via televisions, computers and smart phones. We also have the capacity to alleviate this

152 ‘A brief history of aid,’ Aid watch, 15 November 2008, retrieved on 9 July 2015 from http://www.aidwatch.org.au/stories/a-‐brief-‐

history-‐of-‐aid


suffering through aid agencies and other international organisations that are willing to act

on our behalf if we will only support them to do so. But the sheer immensity of the

inequality raises questions around if we personally can or should help everyone? And if we

can’t, then who should we help?

‘Don’t deny us development’ hopes to provide a safe place from which the viewer can

engage with different perspectives without feeling personally under threat. The variety of

views presented in the work aim to allow people to find a perspective with which they can

identify and agree but also others that challenge them. By engaging with views they

perhaps haven’t been exposed to before, such as those of the Zambian farmers, it is

hoped that viewers will experience personal growth in the way they understand and

respond to issues of poverty and global inequality.


Chapter 12 | Those who can’t fly

The most glaring global inequality is usually that related to access to wealth and material

possessions, which this project focuses on most. However, global inequalities are far more

varied and multifarious than this. ‘Those who can’t fly’ is a work that attempts to apply

the principles of this research to address a different aspect of global inequality in the form

of access to asylum as a human right (see fig. 34, 35 & 36).

This chapter briefly outlines the concept of asylum, provides a description of the work

‘Those who can’t fly’ and its relationship with works by other artists on this topic, and

then explores how ‘Those who can’t fly’ addresses issues of global inequality.

Figure 34 -‐ 'Those who can't fly' (video still), Aaron Moore (2015)


Asylum and the refugee

The right to asylum was first introduced after the Second World War with the adoption of

The 1951 Refugee Convention (The Convention) and later the 1967 Protocol.153 Together

these documents granted rights to the world’s persecuted to flee across the borders of

nation states in order to find safety. Countries that signed The Convention were required

to accept anyone who arrived at their border and claimed asylum, regardless of their

mode of travel or lack of documentation.154 Such states were now beholden to the

principle of ‘non-‐refoulement’,155 a French term that meant the state could no longer

return asylum seekers that reached its border. Once granted entry, the asylum seeker

would need to provide evidence of their persecution in line with the conditions of The

Convention and, if successful, would be granted refugee status. Only if unsuccessful in

their claim, could they then be returned to their country of origin.

Australia is a signatory to The 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol,156 however

recent years have seen strong controversy around the issue of asylum.157 The issue is a

convoluted one, but part of the debate appears to focus on the clash of rights afforded by

The Convention to asylum seekers vis-‐à-‐vis the sovereignty of the nation state to decide

who will or won’t be granted access at its borders.158 This part of the debate marks a

conflict between the rights of asylum seekers and the rights of Australian’s.159

153 ‘The 1951 Refugee Convention’, UNHCR, 1951, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49da0e466.html

154 Ibid.

155 ‘Article 31: The 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol’, UNHCR, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from

http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html 156

‘States parties to the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees and the 1967 Protocol’, UNHCR, April 2015, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from http://www.unhcr.org/3b73b0d63.html 157

G Stein, ‘Australia accused of being nationalistic, xenophobic, ahead of regional people smuggling talks’, ABC News, 28 May 2015, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-‐05-‐28/australia-‐accused-‐of-‐being-‐xenophobic-‐in-‐migrant-‐crisis-‐response/6503844 158

J Howard, Australian Federal Election Speeches, delivered in Sydney 28 October 2001, retrieved on 28 May 2015 from http://electionspeeches.moadoph.gov.au/speeches/2001-‐john-‐howard 159

Ibid.


Another part of the debate challenges the notion of asylum seekers entering without

appropriate documentation or entering by boat as opposed to plane.160 Whilst The

Convention provides equal rights and protection to all asylum seekers regardless of their

documentation or mode of transport, this part of the debate disapproves of asylum

seekers entering by boat and/or without documentation.161 ‘Those who can’t fly’

investigates asylum from within the context of these conflicts and inequalities in

treatment.

Those who can’t fly

‘Those who can’t fly’ is a short video work (4mins 45secs) that examines the Australian

Government’s response to asylum seekers who travel by boat. The work consists of

quotes from Australian Prime Ministers and politicians on both sides of politics, all of

whom are highly critical of what they call ‘illegal entrants’. Australia’s former Immigration

Minister, Scott Morrison, is credited with the largest number of quotes throughout the

work, including those that open and close the video. These quotes are all taken from a

single orientation video produced by the Department of Immigration specifically for

viewing by asylum seekers who are taken into one of Australia’s offshore processing

centres.162 In this video Mr Morrison repeatedly and emphatically states that none of the

asylum seekers will ever live in Australia, even if they are found to be genuinely seeking

protection from persecution, and he encourages them to think about returning from

where they have come.163

160 ‘Ten myths around asylum seekers arriving on boats in Australian waters’, news.com.au, 8 July 2013, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from

http://www.news.com.au/world/ten-‐myths-‐around-‐asylum-‐seekers-‐arriving-‐on-‐boats-‐in-‐australian-‐waters/story-‐fndir2ev-‐1226676024840 161

M Gordon, ‘Refugees are ‘boat people’ to most: UN survey finds’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 June 2012, retrieved on 6 June from http://www.smh.com.au/federal-‐politics/political-‐news/refugees-‐are-‐boat-‐people-‐to-‐most-‐un-‐survey-‐finds-‐20120617-‐20ide.html 162

S Morrison, ‘Go home or spend a very long time in the #terror camps’, David Marler, 26 June 2014, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4xSan_4M48 163

Ibid.



Quotes from other politicians in the work include Prime Minister John Howard’s famous

line from his 2001 electoral policy launch, “We will decide who comes to this country and

the circumstances in which they come;”164 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s 2013

announcement to send all asylum seekers arriving by boat to Papua New Guinea,165 and

Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s response on the television program ‘Q and A’ to the

question “When it comes to asylum seekers, what would Jesus do?”166

The audio from each of these politicians is placed behind footage documenting the plight

of Shearwater birds on Australia’s coast. These birds travel over 15,000 kilometers every

164 J Howard, Australian Federal Election Speeches, delivered in Sydney 28 October 2001, retrieved on 28 May 2015 from

http://electionspeeches.moadoph.gov.au/speeches/2001-‐john-‐howard 165

K Rudd, ‘Rudd confirms asylum seekers arriving by boat to be resettled in PNG’, ABC News Australia, 19 July 2013, retrieved on 28 May 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyumolBGPOY 166

T Abbott, ‘Tony Abbott joins Q&A’, ABC Q and A, 7 April 2010, retrieved on 28 May 2015 from https://youtu.be/f0N4SQ4R5K4


year from Alaska to Tasmania, one of the longest migrations of any animal in the world.167

And every year, tens of thousands of the birds die on Australia’s shores unable to fly

onward to their destination. The death of the birds is reported as a natural event although

it often raises alarm in the hearts of locals who witness the phenomenon.168

Ironically, the footage of these Shearwater birds was taken in the electorate of former

Australian Immigration Minister, Scott Morrison, when, during my regular run along

Cronulla beach, I witnessed first-‐hand the dark spectacle of the thousands of birds dying

on the shoreline. My first response was to attempt to rescue as many as I could, but those

I removed from the shoreline and placed in a sheltered location soon struggled back to

the shore intent to continue their journey south despite their broken wings. Unable to fly,

some of them tried to swim, being beaten back by the crashing waves until they lay

exhausted on the shore again. Seeing so many helpless and dying reminded me of the

feelings I experience in the knowledge that billions of people languish and die in poverty

around the world. Unable to save the birds and unwilling to break their necks to put them

out of their misery I hurried back to my apartment, collected my camera and shot some

footage quickly as the sun set and the wind lashed. During filming I experienced feelings of

compassion and then guilt for recording the spectacle of hurt and death. I justified the act

on the basis of my previous failed attempts to alleviate the bird’s suffering and the

utilitarian hope that by capturing the event on video I might be able to use the suffering of

the birds in a way that could challenge and alleviate the large scale suffering of others

long term. ‘Those who can’t fly’ is my attempt to achieve that goal.

167 ‘Media release: Dead Shearwater birds a natural event’, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, 21 November 2013, retrieved on

28 May 2015 from http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/media/OEHmedia13112101.htm 168

Ibid.



Influencing artists

There are numerous artists whose works address issues of asylum and human

rights.169170171 The introduction of this thesis looked at the works of Mike Parr including,

‘Malevich – A political arm’ and ‘Close the concentration camps’ (see fig. 6, p. 23),

performances in which Parr sewed his lips and face together and nailed his arm to a wall

to challenge the detention of asylum seekers.172 Like Parr, this work challenges the

violation of rights of asylum seekers and the brutality of Australian policies that fail to

protect the vulnerable. Both works use an analogy to communicate the pain and suffering


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljtZsmEHxT0 170

‘Seeking Humanity’, Asylum Seekers Centre, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from -‐ http://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/seeking-‐humanity/ 171

G Gittoes, Biography, retrieved on 31 May 2015 from http://gittoes.com/bio 172

M Parr, op. cit.


experienced by the victims of these policies. Parr’s work uses the analogy of his body,

while ‘Those who can’t fly’ uses the analogy of migrating birds.

I have also briefly mentioned the work of Wendy Sharpe, who undertook a series of

portraits of asylum seekers, entitled ‘Seeking Humanity’, which aimed to raise awareness

on the issue of asylum and provided financial support to the Asylum Seeker Centre.173 Like

Sharpe, ‘Those who can’t fly’ also aims to raise awareness on asylum and does so by

informing the viewer regarding the Australian Government’s asylum policy.

One artist of considerable note working in the area of human rights and social justice is

George Gittoes. Gittoes was recently awarded the 2015 Sydney Peace Prize for which the

Jury’s citation reads:

"George Gittoes AM: For exposing injustice for over 45 years as a humanist artist, activist

and filmmaker, for his courage to witness and confront violence in the war zones of the

world, for enlisting the arts to subdue aggression and for enlivening the creative spirit to

promote tolerance, respect and peace with justice.”174

Gittoes’ life is evidence of what this project claims, that art can be used to address

inequalities and injustices. In 1995 Gittoes witnessed the massacre of thousands of

Rwandans in a displaced person’s camp. The ordeal inspired one of his most famous

works, ‘The Preacher’ (see fig. 37), a powerful image of a preacher trying to calm the

people around him in the chaos of the camp not long before they were all brutally

massacred.

173 ‘Seeking Humanity’, Asylum Seekers Centre, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from -‐ http://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/seeking-‐

humanity/ 174

D Murphy, ‘Artist Gittoes honoured with Sydney peace prize’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 April 2015, retrieved on 28 May 2015 from http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/artist-‐gittoes-‐honoured-‐with-‐sydney-‐peace-‐prize-‐20150411-‐1mi61o.html


Figure 37 -‐ 'The preacher', George Gittoes (1995)175

Gittoes has gone on to document many of today’s atrocities, travelling and working in

numerous conflict areas, and telling ordinary people’s stories in the hope of educating and

inspiring change. Much of his work has focussed on the lives of the refugee or displaced

including those living in the aftermath of the Bosnian War in 1996; those displaced

through the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China in 1998; and those living in

refugee camps after the invasion of Afghanistan in 2002.176

175 W Miles, ‘George Gittoes The Preacher’, Pictify, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from http://pictify.com/211743/george-‐gittoes-‐the-‐

preacher 176

G Gittoes, Biography, retrieved on 31 May 2015 from http://gittoes.com/bio


Gittoes states, “I believe it is the job of the artist to combat the destructive forces of

human nature… I have kept my work consistently on the theme of social justice, humanity

and against war.”177 His work ‘Evolution’ (see fig. 38) depicts monkeys in a jungle, some

smiling with their swords victorious and others dead and dying below, and reflects Gittoes

belief that we will never leave the jungle until we stop making war.

Figure 38 -‐ George Gitoes in discussion with George Negus in front of his work 'Evolution' (2014) 178

177 Hazelhurst Regional Arts Gallery and Centre, ‘In conversation with George Gittoes’, Youtube, 2 June 2014, retrieved on 31 May 2015

from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-‐OKrDxdrbHo 178

J Dyson, ‘By George! Negus drops in for Gittoes opening night’, The Leader, 24 May 2014, retrieved on 16 July 2015 from http://www.theleader.com.au/story/2304439/by-‐george-‐negus-‐drops-‐in-‐for-‐gittoes-‐opening-‐night


Like Gittoes, ‘Those who can’t fly’ focuses on social justice for those displaced by conflict

and persecution. And like ‘Evolution’ it analogises the behaviour of animals with people to

help us view our human interactions in a fresh, and perhaps more objective light.

Global inequality

‘Those who can’t fly’ aims to address issues of global inequality by raising awareness and

understanding around challenges facing asylum seekers. Firstly, it highlights and

showcases the actual response of the Australian government by collating statements from

a variety of prime ministers and politicians to demonstrate a unified, bipartisan approach

to asylum. Secondly, it analogises the suffering of migrating humans with migrating birds

in the hope of assisting viewers to more clearly observe the suffering and vulnerability of

asylum seekers without the political, racial and nationalistic baggage that is normally

attached to them. Thirdly, it aims to use this increased objectivity to provide a space for

people to empathise with the state of those suffering, rather than critique their mode,

origin or purpose of travel. And finally, it hopes that this increased understanding and

empathy will shift the way we live and the policies we support.

‘Those who can’t fly’ emphasises the phenomenon of migration as a natural one that

cannot be constrained by policy alone. It encourages the viewer to identify with the

suffering of the birds that cannot reach their destination, are stranded and dying. It aims

to encourage compassion in the audience as opposed to the common response of

critiquing the origin or intention of asylum seekers. The harsh dogmatic words of the

politicians grate on the natural compassionate response that arises within the viewer at

the sight of suffering. This juxtaposition aims to make the audience acutely aware that

these policies are at odds with humanity and compassion on a broad and basic level.

Even if the audience do normally identify with the words and attitudes of the politicians,

this work makes it difficult to harmonise such ideals with the images of the suffering,

vulnerable birds and obliges the viewer to reassess their perspective. It is hoped that the


act of scrutinising and reassessing our own attitudes toward asylum will result in a more

humane, compassionate and effective response to a complicated and difficult challenge.

Whilst no artwork can ‘make’ someone think a certain thing, and nor should it, if the

empathy aroused in ‘Those who can’t fly’ is able to open up the viewer to the possibility of

an alternative view, then it has been effective in its purpose.


Chapter 13 | Conclusion

This thesis began with the proposition that art could positively impact the world by

addressing issues of global inequality through two key means of wealth redistribution and

increased awareness. The performance ‘One thing you lack’ achieved this end, successfully

raising thousands of dollars that were used to impact the lives of hundreds of people living

in poverty. It also challenged societal norms, opening dialogue on society’s responsibility

to address inequality and resulted in behavioral change exemplified in people reassessing

their personal consumption or donating to charity.

Throughout part two of this thesis, the works have aimed to develop awareness and

discussion around issues of global inequality. I have sought to avoid a propagandist

approach, but rather focused on encouraging a nuanced inspection of a complicated issue.

Once again, it is my hope that the works encourage viewers to reflect on their own role in

a world of global inequality, responding to that which is within their own circle of

influence. For those who may have been disinterested in the issues of global inequality or

become desensitised to the challenge, I hope the works reawaken their interest and spark

a new engagement with the topic, enlivening them to the prospect of making a difference

in the lives of those less fortunate.

To this end, I am encouraged by Singer’s comments that, ‘if contemporary art is worth

anything then I think it ought to be wakening us up to the situation of the world we are

living in and that’s what I see Aaron as doing.”179 There is obviously much in our world that

we need to be awakened to, but global inequality is definitely one of those challenges that

contemporary art can help us address.

179 P Singer, Personal communication, 20 December 2012


As well as a research project, this has also been a personal journey and the works

produced have been part of a cathartic exercise confronting my own struggles regarding

art and global inequality. After experiencing the horrors of war, George Gittoes used art

and writing to process the injustices of our world.180 Similarly art has helped me wrestle

with the injustices I witness first-‐hand, assisting me both to understand and respond to

the world I encounter. It has also strengthened my assessment that art has a unique and

effective role to play in addressing the challenges of inequality within our global society.

This is a role I hope the art world will intentionally seek to inhabit to a greater degree both

for the sake of the vulnerable and for the sake of creating powerful and meaningful works

of art.

180 P Adams, ‘George Gittoes wins Sydney Peace Prize’, Radio National, retrieved on 10 July 2015 from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5LxH2L9Ns0


Figures

Figure 1 -‐ Wendy Sharp and her portraits ‘Seeking humanity’ (2015) ............................................................. 14 Figure 2 -‐ Ai Weiwei with his 'Sunflower seeds' (2010) .................................................................................... 16 Figure 3 -‐ Chinese workers creating seeds for Ai Weiwei's 'Sunflower seeds' ................................................. 17 Figure 4 -‐ Vincent Van Gogh's 'The potato eaters' (1885) ................................................................................ 19 Figure 5 -‐ Callie Curry's work for 'The equality effect' project (2012) .............................................................. 22 Figure 6 -‐ Mike Parr | Left: ‘Malevich -‐ a political arm’ (2002) | Right: ‘Close the concentration camps’ (2002) .......................................................................................................................................................................... 23 Figure 7 – ‘One thing you lack’ prior to opening | Top left: Bedroom | Top right: online bidding | Bottom left: pantry goods | Bottom right: art studio ........................................................................................................... 28 Figure 8 -‐ Inside the Salvation Army store the day after delivering 'One thing you lack' goods | Top left: my boxer shorts on the rack marked at $1.50 | Top right: my awards and trophies sit in a bargain bin | Bottom left: my artworks | Bottom right: my books still marked with stickers from the exhibition displayed on a coffee table ...................................................................................................................................................... 29 Figure 9 -‐ 'One thing you lack' prior to opening | Left: my bedside table | Right: my degrees available for bidding .............................................................................................................................................................. 30 Figure 10 -‐ 'Breakdown', Michael Landy (2001) ............................................................................................... 32 Figure 11 -‐ 'Bonfire of the brands', Neil Boorman (2006) ................................................................................ 34 Figure 12 -‐ Left: Jaspe Joffe | Right: 'The sale of a lifetime' (2009) .................................................................. 36 Figure 13 -‐ 'Fucking hell', Jake and Dinos Chapman (2008) .............................................................................. 41 Figure 14 -‐ Peter Singer ................................................................................................................................... 44 Figure 15 -‐ Aftershave purchased from 'One thing you lack' ........................................................................... 62 Figure 16 -‐ 'Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances', Aaron Moore (2015) | Left: Esther Chewa, Malawi, "My favourite possession is a radio because it lets me know what is happening around the world" | Right: Alice Kmunga, Malawi, "My favourite possession is a bucket because I can use it to keep clean and healthy” ............................................................................................................................................................ 68 Figure 17 -‐ 'Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances', Aaron Moore (2015) | Left: Grace Banda, Zambia, “My favourite possession is my hoe because it brings food into my home” | Centre: Lillian Zulu, Zambia, "My favourite possession is my container of water because water is life” | Right: Memory Banda, Zambia, “My favourite possession is my mobile phone because it enables me to communicate with relatives and friends” ...................................................................................................................................................... 69


Figure 18 -‐ 'Toy stories', Gabriele Galimberti (2004) ........................................................................................ 70 Figure 19 -‐ '60 seconds', Melanie Beresford (2012) ......................................................................................... 72 Figure 20 -‐ The first page of a Google image search for 'poor people' ............................................................ 73 Figure 21 -‐ 'The chronicles of everything owned (and sold)' (video stills), Aaron Moore (2015) ..................... 76 Figure 22 -‐ 'Stuff self', Aaron Moore (2015) ..................................................................................................... 77 Figure 23 -‐ 'Stuff self' (detail), Aaron Moore (2015) ......................................................................................... 78 Figure 24 -‐ Huang Qingjun's photos of people and their possessions (2012) .................................................. 79 Figure 25 -‐ 'The thinker's chair', Aaron Moore (2013) ..................................................................................... 82 Figure 26 -‐ Documents for sale at one dollar each as part of 'One thing you lack' .......................................... 83 Figure 27 -‐ 'The thinker', Auguste Rodin (1906) ............................................................................................... 85 Figure 28 -‐ 'Don't deny us development' (video still), Aaron Moore (2015) .................................................... 88 Figure 29 -‐ 'Don't deny us development' (video still), Aaron Moore (2015) .................................................... 89 Figure 30 -‐ 'Don't deny us development' (video still), Aaron Moore (2015) .................................................... 90 Figure 31 -‐ 'Prayers of a mother', Kate Murphy (1999) .................................................................................... 91 Figure 32 -‐ Found televisions used to display 'Don't deny us development' ................................................... 93 Figure 33 -‐ 'Don't deny us development' (video still), Aaron Moore (2015) .................................................... 94 Figure 34 -‐ 'Those who can't fly' (video still), Aaron Moore (2015) ................................................................. 96 Figure 35 -‐ 'Those who can't fly' (video still), Aaron Moore (2015) ................................................................. 99 Figure 36 -‐ 'Those who can't fly' (video still), Aaron Moore (2015) ............................................................... 101 Figure 37 -‐ 'The preacher', George Gittoes (1995) ......................................................................................... 103 Figure 38 -‐ George Gitoes in discussion with George Negus in front of his work 'Evolution' (2014) ............. 104


Bibliography

‘A brief history of aid,’ Aid watch, 15 November 2008, retrieved on 9 July 2015 from http://www.aidwatch.org.au/stories/a-‐brief-‐history-‐of-‐aid

Abbott T, ‘Tony Abbott joins Q&A’, ABC Q and A, 7 April 2010, retrieved on 28 May 2015 from https://youtu.be/f0N4SQ4R5K4 ACFID Annual Report 2013, 2013, p.23, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from http://www.acfid.asn.au/about-‐acfid/corporate-‐documents/annual-‐report-‐2013

Adams P, ‘George Gittoes wins Sydney Peace Prize’, Radio National, retrieved on 10 July 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5LxH2L9Ns0

Adichie C, ‘The danger of a single story’, TED talks, July 2009, retrieved on 8 July 2015 from http://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en ‘Ai Weiwei on faceless mass production’, Situation is studio, 22 February 2013, retrieved on 17 July 2015 from http://situationiststudio.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/ai-‐weiwei-‐on-‐faceless-‐mass-‐production.html ‘Ai Weiwei: sunflower seeds’, TATE Gallery, 14 October 2010, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PueYywpkJW8 ‘Ai Weiwei Brainy Quote’, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/a/ai_weiwei.html Ai Weiwei never sorry, Muse, China, 2012

Andrews M, Land art – A cultural ecology handbook, RSA, UK, 2006

Arendt, H 1943, ‘We refugees’, The menorah journal, United States, retrieved on 2 August 2013 from www.stanford.edu/dept/DLCL/files/pdf/hannah_arendt_we_refugees.pdf Aristotle, Aristotle in 23 Volumes, Vol. 23, translated by W. H. Fyfe, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1932 Armstrong J, How to worry less about money, Macmillan, 2012


‘Article 31: The 1951 Refugee Convention and 1967 Protocol’, UNHCR, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from http://www.unhcr.org/3b66c2aa10.html ‘Australia’s aid and development program submission 56’, Church agencies network submission, 6 February 2014, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from http://www.aph.gov.au/DocumentStore.ashx?id=3bdee543-‐e4ec-‐4988-‐a128-‐d4fdb6984f69&subId=32466 Balt C, A dark revolt of being: abjection, sacrifice and the real in performance art, Rhodes University, June 2009 ‘Bangladesh Community Development Project’, Global Concern, retrieved on 12 June 2015 from http://globalconcern.org.au/portfolio/bangladesh/?id=2513 Barrowclough N, ‘Under his skin’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 July 2012 Beresford M, 60 seconds, Melanie Beresford, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from http://www.melanieberesford.com/category/60-‐seconds

Beresford M, personal communication, 1 December 2012 Berry S, ‘Could you sell every possession you own?’ The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 December 2012, retrieved on 7 July 2015 from http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/could-‐you-‐sell-‐every-‐possession-‐you-‐own-‐20121204-‐2asns.html

Bolt A, ‘Greens all at sea on danger of refugees’, Daily Telegraph, 3 July 2014

Boorman N, Bonfire of the Brands: How I learned to live without labels, Cannongate Books, UK, 2006

Boyle M, ‘The man who lives without money’, ABC Environment, 3 October 2013

Buchanan R, ‘Comic Relief breaks 1bill raised on its 30th birthday’, The Independent, 15 March 2015, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-‐entertainment/red-‐nose-‐day-‐2015-‐comic-‐relief-‐breaks-‐1bn-‐raised-‐on-‐charitys-‐30th-‐anniversary-‐10108120.html Camosy C, Peter Singer and Christian Ethics, Cambridge University Press, UK, 2012


Chao M, Advocacy in CPTING project, November 2015, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from http://cpting.webfactional.com/media/uploads/Advocacy-‐note.pdf ‘Children should not be dying from preventable causes’, UNICEF, retrieved on 3 October 2014 from http://www.unicef.org/why/why_preventable_causes.html

‘Christine puts art and soul into 40 hour famine’, World Vision, 8 August 2014, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from http://www.worldvision.com.au/Issues/Transforming_Lives___Child_Sponsorship/christine-‐puts-‐art-‐and-‐soul-‐into-‐the-‐40HF.aspx Crankshaw O, ‘Jobs sketch the contours of SA’s new great divide’, Sunday Times, 8 June 2014 Corbett S & Fikkert B, When helping hurts – How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor and yourself, Moody Publishers, USA, 2009 Corner L, ‘Has destroying all their worldly goods made this artists happy?’ The Independent, 10 January 2010, retrieved on 15 April 2015 from http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-‐entertainment/art/features/has-‐destroying-‐all-‐their-‐worldly-‐goods-‐made-‐these-‐artists-‐happy-‐1859854.html Curry C, ‘Callie Curry aka Swoon’, TEDX Talks Brooklyn, 24 December 2010, retrieved on 25 March 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5298KZuW_JE Curry C, ‘The art of equality’, The Equality Effect, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from http://theequalityeffect.org/the-‐art-‐of-‐equality De Botton A & Armstrong J, Art as Therapy, Phaidon Press, UK, 2013 De Gruchy J.W, Christianity, art and transformation – theological aesthetics in the struggle for justice, Cambridge University Press, USA, 2001

Denton A, Professor Peter Singer, Enough Rope, 4 October 2004, retrieved on 15 July from http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1213309.htm

Delicath J.W, ‘Art and Advocacy: Citizen participation through cultural activism’, in Communication and Public Participation, edited by J.W. Delicath and S.P. Depoe, SUNY Press, 2004, retrieved on 25 March 2015 from http://books.google.com.au/books?hl=en&lr=&id=QxiQO9ZfCqgC&oi=fnd&pg=PA255&dq


=art+as+advocacy&ots=fgI8XXrp_-‐&sig=AaiE8Ae23iDL4wjM3I7UsaFV0pE#v=onepage&q=art%20as%20advocacy&f=false Dictionary.com, retrieved on 8 July 2015 from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/donor+fatigue Dyson J, ‘By George! Negus drops in for Gittoes opening night’, The Leader, 24 May 2014, retrieved on 16 July 2015 from http://www.theleader.com.au/story/2304439/by-‐george-‐negus-‐drops-‐in-‐for-‐gittoes-‐opening-‐night

Edelman M, From art to politics: how artistic creations shape political conceptions, The university of Chicago press, USA, 1996 Elliot E, ‘Art and knowledge’, in J. Knowles & A. Cole, Handbook of the Arts in Qualitative Research (pp3-‐11), Sage, USA, 2008

Elliot T, ‘The house of hope’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 January 2012

‘Ending extreme poverty’, The World Bank, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/global-‐monitoring-‐report/report-‐card/twin-‐goals/ending-‐extreme-‐poverty Episode III: Enjoy poverty, Renzo Martens, Netherlands, 2009 Fieser J, ‘Ethics’, Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy – A peer reviewed academic resource, USA, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from http://www.iep.utm.edu/ethics/ ‘Filmmaker dies on doco’, Sunday Telegraph, 7 April 2013 Foster A, ‘Chinese families’ worldly goods in Huang Qingjun’s pictures’, BBC News, 23 September 2012, accessed on 19 September 2014 from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-‐19648095 Freire P, Pedagogy of the oppressed, translated by M.B. Ramos, Penguin Books, UK, 1993 Fuentes-‐Nieva R & Glasso N, ‘Working for the few: political capture and economic inequality’, Oxfam, 20 January 2014, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from https://www.oxfam.org/sites/www.oxfam.org/files/bp-‐working-‐for-‐few-‐political-‐capture-‐economic-‐inequality-‐200114-‐summ-‐en.pdf


Gablik S, ‘A New Front’, Resurgence Magazine, 2004, retrieved on 27 June 2015 from http:// greenmuseum.org/content/generic_content/ct_id-‐170.html Galimberti G, Toy Stories, retrieved on 14 September 2014 from http://www.gabrielegalimberti.com/projects-‐2/toys-‐2

‘Gate’s way of giving’, UNSWorld, June 2013, issue 18, UNSW Australia Gibson L, The uses of art, Griffith University, Queensland, 2001 Gittoes G, Biography, retrieved on 31 May 2015 from http://gittoes.com/bio ‘Global art sales in 2014 break all known records’, The European Fine Art Foundation, 11 March 2015, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from http://www.tefaf.com/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=15&tabindex=14&pressrelease=16959&presslanguage Google images, retrieved on 10 March 2015 from https://www.google.com.au/search?q=poor+people&biw=1963&bih=1280&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAWoVChMIoYa21p_fxgIVKNymCh0Phgul

Gordon M, ‘Refugees are ‘boat people’ to most: UN survey finds’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 June 2012, retrieved on 6 June from http://www.smh.com.au/federal-‐politics/political-‐news/refugees-‐are-‐boat-‐people-‐to-‐most-‐un-‐survey-‐finds-‐20120617-‐20ide.html

Hazelhurst Regional Arts Gallery and Centre, ‘In conversation with George Gittoes’, 2 June 2014, retrieved on 31 May 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-‐OKrDxdrbHo

‘Helping people help themselves’, Oxfam, retrieved on 8 July 2015 from https://www.oxfam.org.au/explore/helping-‐people-‐help-‐themselves/ Howard J, Australian Federal Election Speeches, delivered in Sydney 28 October 2001, retrieved on 28 May 2015 from http://electionspeeches.moadoph.gov.au/speeches/2001-‐john-‐howard Hutchins K, Global Ethics: An introduction, Polity Press, UK, 2010

Islamic Relief, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from https://islamic-‐relief.com.au


Jacobs A.J, ‘My year of living biblically’, Ted talks, December 2007, retrieved on 18 July 2015 from http://www.ted.com/talks/a_j_jacobs_year_of_living_biblically?language=en Jensen M, ‘The enlightenment’, Eternity, April 2014 Joffe F, ‘The sale of a lifetime press release’, 30 June 2009, retrieved on 24 July 2013 from http://www.jasperjoffe.com/Press%20Release%20-‐%20Jasper%20Joffe%20-‐%20sales%20of%20a%20lifetime.pdf Jones J, ‘Poverty lines: where are the poor in art today?’ The Guardian, 30 December 2014, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2014/dec/30/art-‐and-‐poverty-‐where-‐are-‐poor-‐in-‐art-‐today Jones O, ‘Our shameful hierarchy – some deaths matter more than others’, The Independent, 23 April 2013 Kermode M, ‘Chapman Brothers Interview’, Art Patrol TV, 17 November 2008, retrieved on 1 October 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QeNatsDV4I Kirby C, personal communication, 15 August 2012 Landy M, Artangel: Break down, 2001, retrieved on 24 July 2013 from http://www.artangel.org.uk/projects/2001/break_down

Law, Believing bullshit, Prometheus Books, USA, 2011

Lockford L, ‘Talking dirty and laying low: A humble homage to humanity.’ In L. C. Miller & R. J. Pelias (Eds), The green window: Proceeding of the Giant City conference on performative writing (pp 113-‐121). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University, USA, 2001

Marchell B, ‘Toy stories’, The Times Magazine, 26 May 2012 ‘Media release: Dead Shearwater birds a natural event’, NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, 21 November 2013, retrieved on 28 May 2015 from http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/media/OEHmedia13112101.htm McDonald J, ‘Seeing Double’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 2 February 2 2013 McNiff S, ‘Art-‐based research’, in J. Knowles & A. Cole, Handbook of the Arts in Qualitative Research (pp29-‐40). Sage, USA, 2008


‘Mike Parr at midnight: a performance protocol’, retrieved on 17 July 2015 from http://members.iinet.net.au/~postpub/8ball/issue%2028/Parr=_Malevich_A_Political_Arm_.html Miles W, ‘George Gittoes The Preacher’, Pictify, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from http://pictify.com/211743/george-‐gittoes-‐the-‐preacher ‘Millennium development goals -‐ reduce child mortality’, UNICEF, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.unicef.org/mdg/index_childmortality.htm Mohan G, ‘Participatory Development: From Epistemological Reversals to Active Citizenship’, Geography Compass, Hodder Education, 2007, p. 781

Mohan G, ‘Participatory Development’, The Companion to Development Studies, Hodder Education, 2008, p. 45

Monbiot G, ‘Materialism: a system that eats us from the inside out’, The Guardian, 12 October 2013

Moore A, ‘Reflections of a man who sold everything and gave it to the poor’, Bible Society, 1 July 2013, retrieved on 8 July 2015 from http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/reflections-‐of-‐a-‐man-‐who-‐sold-‐everything-‐and-‐gave-‐it-‐to-‐the-‐poor

Moore A & E, personal communication, 7 July 2012

Morrison S, ‘Go home or spend a very long time in the #terror camps’, David Marler, 26 June 2014, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4xSan_4M48

Moyo D, Dead aid – why aid is not working and how there is another way for Africa, Penguin Books, USA, 2010

Murphy D, ‘Artist Gittoes honoured with Sydney peace prize’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 April 2015, retrieved on 28 May 2015 from http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/artist-‐gittoes-‐honoured-‐with-‐sydney-‐peace-‐prize-‐20150411-‐1mi61o.html

Murphy K, ‘Prayers of a mother’, Museum of Contemporary Art, 1999, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from https://mca.com.au/collection/work/20076/


Nile R, ‘First cohort for thought’, The Australian, 4 October 2006, retrieved on 15 July from http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/first-‐cohort-‐for-‐thought/story-‐e6frg6n6-‐1111112254409 ’Now that's something to ponder: Auguste Rodin's The Thinker sells for a record $15.3 million at auction’, The Daily Mail, 9 May 2013, retrieved on 16 July 2015 from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-‐2321349/Auguste-‐Rodins-‐The-‐Thinker-‐sells-‐record-‐15-‐3-‐million-‐auction.html

O’Hagan S, ‘Interview: Marina Abramovic’, The Guardian, 3 October 2010, retrieved on 14 June 2015 from http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2010/oct/03/interview-‐marina-‐abramovic-‐performance-‐artist

O’Hear N, Contrasting images of the book of revelation in late medieval and early modern art: a case study in exegesis, Oxford Scholarship, UK, 2011 ‘Our supporters’, Djilpin Arts, retrieved on 12 June 2015 from http://djilpinarts.org.au/support-‐us ‘Our supporters’, Equality Effect, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from http://theequalityeffect.org/our-‐supporters Oxford Dictionary, 2015, Oxford University Press, retrieved on 7 June 2015 from http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/art Parr F, ‘Mike Parr – Close the concentration camps, 2002’, Sherman Galleries, retrieved on 17 July 2015 from http://shermangalleries.sherman-‐scaf.org.au/artists/inartists/image_pop.asp%3Fimage=341.html

Parr M, ‘Mike Parr uses body in topical exhibition’, ABC News, 28 Feb 2012, retrieved on 14 September 2014 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljtZsmEHxT0 Pelias P, ‘Performative inquiry: embodiment and its challenges’ in J. Knowles & A. Cole, Handbook of the Arts in Qualitative Research, Sage, USA, 2008, p. 185-‐194

Ronson J, ‘The hunger games’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 January 2013 Singer P, Twitter, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from https://twitter.com/petersinger Plato, Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vols. 5 & 6 translated by Paul Shorey, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1969


‘Poverty overview’, World Bank, USA, 6 April 2015, retrieved on 15 June 2015 from http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/overview Rasmussen S, ‘The art of war’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 11 April 2015 Richardson L, ‘Evaluating ethnography’, Qualitative Inquiry, June 2000, vol. 6, no. 2, p. 253-‐255

‘Richest 1% to own more than the rest of the world, Oxfam says’, BBC Business, 19 January 2015, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.bbc.com/news/business-‐30875633 Roberts S, Facebook, retrieved on 14 June 2015 from https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152571850051881&set=a.10150947323661881.410005.585921880&type=1 Ross S, personal communication, 2 June 2013 Rudd K, ‘Rudd confirms asylum seekers arriving by boat to be resettled in PNG’, ABC News Australia, 19 July 2013, retrieved on 28 May 2015 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyumolBGPOY Sabato G, ‘Jake and Dinos Chapman, Fucking hell, 2008’, Artribune, 26 April 2014, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from http://www.artribune.com/2014/04/violent-‐beauty-‐la-‐sublime-‐violenza-‐della-‐contemporaneita-‐ii/07-‐61

Sachs J, The end of poverty: Economic possibilities of our time, The Penguin Press, USA, 2005 Sayer M, ‘Staying power’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 April 2013

Salvation Army Thrift Stores, Salvation Army, retrieved on 7 July 2015 from http://www.thriftstore.ca/manitoba/salvation-‐army-‐thrift-‐store-‐faqs

‘Seeking Humanity’, Asylum Seekers Centre, retrieved on 24 March 2015 from http://asylumseekerscentre.org.au/seeking-‐humanity/ Singer P, ‘Famine, affluence and morality’, Philosophy and Public Affairs, vol. 1, no. 1, Spring 1972, p.229-‐243, retrieved on 15 July 2015 from http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/1972-‐-‐-‐-‐.htm Singer P, personal communication, 20 December 2012


Singer P, ‘The drowning child and the expanding circle’, New Internationalist, 1997, retrieved on 20 March 2012 from http://www.utilitarian.net/singer/by/199704-‐-‐.htm Singer P, The life you can save: Acting now to end world poverty, Random House, USA, 2010 Singer P, The life you can save, retrieved on 13 July 2015 from http://www.thelifeyoucansave.org Singer P, The most good you can do: how affective altruism is changing ideas about living ethically, USA, Yale University Press, 2015

Singer vs Lennox: Is there a God? Big Ideas, ABC, 6 September 2011, retrieved 18 July 2015 from http://www.abc.net.au/tv/bigideas/stories/2011/09/06/3310342.htm Spooner W.A, ‘The Golden Rule,’ in James Hastings, ed. Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. 6 (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1914) pp. 310–12, quoted in Rushworth M. Kidder, How Good People Make Tough Choices: Resolving the Dilemmas of Ethical Living, Harper, New York, 2003 ‘States parties to the 1951 Convention relating to the status of refugees and the 1967 Protocol’, UNHCR, April 2015, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from http://www.unhcr.org/3b73b0d63.html Stein G, ‘Australia accused of being nationalistic, xenophobic, ahead of regional people smuggling talks’, ABC News, 28 May 2015, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-‐05-‐28/australia-‐accused-‐of-‐being-‐xenophobic-‐in-‐migrant-‐crisis-‐response/6503844 ‘TEFAF report 2015: US tops the global art market, China and UK tie at second place’, Art Radar Journal, 13 March 2015, retrieved on 24 March 2014 from http://artradarjournal.com/2015/03/13/tefaf-‐report-‐2015-‐us-‐tops-‐the-‐global-‐art-‐market-‐china-‐and-‐uk-‐tie-‐at-‐second-‐place/ ‘Ten myths around asylum seekers arriving on boats in Australian waters’, news.com.au, 8 July 2013, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from http://www.news.com.au/world/ten-‐myths-‐around-‐asylum-‐seekers-‐arriving-‐on-‐boats-‐in-‐australian-‐waters/story-‐fndir2ev-‐1226676024840

The Bible: contemporary English version, Harper Collins, London, 2000


‘The 1951 Refugee Convention’, UNHCR, 1951, retrieved on 6 June 2015 from http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49da0e466.html ‘The global rich list’, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.globalrichlist.com/ ‘The life you can save’, Oxfam, retrieved on 13 June 2015 from http://www.thelifeyoucansave.org/where-‐to-‐donate/oxfam The refugee art project, retrieved on 12 June 2015 from http://therefugeeartproject.com/home/ The thinker, Artble, retrieved on 9 July 2015 from http://www.artble.com/artists/auguste_rodin/sculpture/the_thinker Thoreau H.D, Walden; or life in the woods, Dover Publications Inc., New York, 1995 ‘Tiny houses: California’s homelessness gets new $40 solution’, RT News, 21 February 2015, retrieved on 12 June 2015 from http://rt.com/usa/234371-‐tiny-‐houses-‐california-‐poor/ Tolstoy L, The Demands of Love, 1893, translated by Aylmer Maude, Wikisource, retrieved on 18 April 2012 from https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Complete_Works_of_Lyof_N._Tolsto%C3%AF/The_Demands_of_Love

Tuck M, ‘New Data Show 1.4 Billion Live On Less Than US$1.25 A Day, But Progress Against Poverty Remains Strong’, The World Bank, 16 September 2008, retrieved on 15 April 2015 from http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-‐release/2008/09/16/new-‐data-‐show-‐14-‐billion-‐live-‐less-‐us125-‐day-‐progress-‐against-‐poverty-‐remains-‐strong

Weardon G, ‘Oxfam: 85 richest people as wealthy as poorest half of the world’, The Guardian, 20 January 2014, retrieved on 2 April 2015 from http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/jan/20/oxfam-‐85-‐richest-‐people-‐half-‐of-‐the-‐world White M, ‘Less is more’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 May 2014 Whitmarsh T, ‘Through the eye of a needle by Peter Brown – review’, The Guardian, 8 December 2012


Wood S, ‘Portraits of humanity’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 24 January 2015 Wood T, ‘Invisible children, bad pop and making people care’, Dev Policy Blog, 15 January 2015

Zahrnt D, Singer’s principle and the ‘ought-‐implies-‐can’ criterion: ‘Are we all heroes in waiting’? Princeton University, USA, 2013


Appendix 1 | The drowning child and the expanding circle

Peter Singer, New Internationalist, April 1997

To challenge my students to think about the ethics of what we owe to people in need, I ask them to imagine that their route to the university takes them past a shallow pond. One morning, I say to them, you notice a child has fallen in and appears to be drowning. To wade in and pull the child out would be easy but it will mean that you get your clothes wet and muddy, and by the time you go home and change you will have missed your first class.

I then ask the students: do you have any obligation to rescue the child? Unanimously, the students say they do. The importance of saving a child so far outweighs the cost of getting one’s clothes muddy and missing a class, that they refuse to consider it any kind of excuse for not saving the child. Does it make a difference, I ask, that there are other people walking past the pond who would equally be able to rescue the child but are not doing so? No, the students reply, the fact that others are not doing what they ought to do is no reason why I should not do what I ought to do.

Once we are all clear about our obligations to rescue the drowning child in front of us, I ask: would it make any difference if the child were far away, in another country perhaps, but similarly in danger of death, and equally within your means to save, at no great cost – and absolutely no danger – to yourself? Virtually all agree that distance and nationality make no moral difference to the situation. I then point out that we are all in that situation of the person passing the shallow pond: we can all save lives of people, both children and adults, who would otherwise die, and we can do so at a very small cost to us: the cost of a new CD, a shirt or a night out at a restaurant or concert, can mean the difference between life and death to more than one person somewhere in the world – and overseas aid agencies like Oxfam overcome the problem of acting at a distance.

At this point the students raise various practical difficulties. Can we be sure that our donation will really get to the people who need it? Doesn’t most aid get swallowed up in administrative costs, or waste, or downright corruption? Isn’t the real problem the growing world population, and is there any point in saving lives until the problem has been solved? These questions can all be answered: but I also point out that even if a substantial proportion of our donations were wasted, the cost to us of making the


donation is so small, compared to the benefits that it provides when it, or some of it, does get through to those who need our help, that we would still be saving lives at a small cost to ourselves – even if aid organizations were much less efficient than they actually are.

I am always struck by how few students challenge the underlying ethics of the idea that we ought to save the lives of strangers when we can do so at relatively little cost to ourselves. At the end of the nineteenth century WH Lecky wrote of human concern as an expanding circle which begins with the individual, then embraces the family and ‘soon the circle... includes first a class, then a nation, then a coalition of nations, then all humanity, and finally, its influence is felt in the dealings of man [sic] with the animal world’.1 On this basis the overwhelming majority of my students seem to be already in the penultimate stage – at least – of Lecky’s expanding circle. There is, of course, for many students and for various reasons a gap between acknowledging what we ought to do, and doing it; but I shall come back to that issue shortly.

Our century is the first in which it has been possible to speak of global responsibility and a global community. For most of human history we could affect the people in our village, or perhaps in a large city, but even a powerful king could not conquer far beyond the borders of his kingdom. When Hadrian ruled the Roman Empire, his realm covered most of the ‘known’ world, but today when I board a jet in London leaving what used to be one of the far-‐flung outposts of the Roman Empire, I pass over its opposite boundary before I am even halfway to Singapore, let alone to my home in Australia. Moreover no matter what the extent of the empire, the time required for communications and transport meant that there was simply no way in which people could make any difference to the victims of floods, wars, or massacres taking place on the other side of the globe. By the time anyone had heard of the events and responded, the victims were dead or had survived without assistance. ‘Charity begins at home’ made sense, because it was only ‘at home’ – or at least in your own town – that you could be confident that your charity would make any difference.

Instant communications and jet transport have changed all that. A television audience of two billion people can now watch hungry children beg for food in an area struck by famine, or they can see refugees streaming across the border in search of a safe place away from those they fear will kill them. Most of that huge audience also have the means to help people they are seeing on their screens. Each one of us can pull out a credit card and phone in a donation to an aid organization which can, in a few days, fly in people who can begin distributing food and medical supplies. Collectively, it is also within the capacity


of the United Nations – with the support of major powers – to put troops on the ground to protect those who are in danger of becoming victims of genocide.

Our capacity to affect what is happening, anywhere in the world, is one way in which we are living in an era of global responsibility. But there is also another way that offers an even more dramatic contrast with the past. The atmosphere and the oceans seemed, until recently, to be elements of nature totally unaffected by the puny activities of human beings. Now we know that our use of chlorofluorocarbons has damaged the ozone shield; our emission of carbon dioxide is changing the climate of the entire planet in unpredictable ways and raising the level of the sea; and fishing fleets are scouring the oceans, depleting fish populations that once seemed limitless to a point from which they may never recover. In these ways the actions of consumers in Los Angeles can cause skin cancer among Australians, inundate the lands of peasants in Bangladesh, and force Thai villagers who could once earn a living by fishing to work in the factories of Bangkok.

In these circumstances the need for a global ethic is inescapable. Is it nevertheless a vain hope? Here are some reasons why it may not be.

We live in a time when many people experience their lives as empty and lacking in fulfilment. The decline of religion and the collapse of communism have left but the ideology of the free market whose only message is: consume, and work hard so you can earn money to consume more. Yet even those who do reasonably well in this race for material goods do not find that they are satisfied with their way of life. We now have good scientific evidence for what philosophers have said throughout the ages: once we have enough to satisfy our basic needs, gaining more wealth does not bring us more happiness.

Consider the life of Ivan Boesky, the multimillionaire Wall Street dealer who in 1986 pleaded guilty to insider trading. Why did Boesky get involved in criminal activities when he already had more money than he could ever spend? Six years after the insider-‐trading scandal broke, Boesky’s estranged wife Seema spoke about her husband’s motives in an interview with Barbara Walters for the American ABC Network’s 20/20 program. Walters asked whether Boesky was a man who craved luxury. Seema Boesky thought not, pointing out that he worked around the clock, seven days a week, and never took a day off to enjoy his money. She then recalled that when in 1982 Forbes magazine first listed Boesky among the wealthiest people in the US, he was upset. She assumed he disliked the publicity and made some remark to that effect. Boesky replied: ‘That’s not what’s upsetting me. We’re no-‐one. We’re nowhere. We’re at the bottom of the list and I


promise you I won’t shame you like that again. We will not remain at the bottom of that list.’

We must free ourselves from this absurd conception of success. Not only does it fail to bring happiness even to those who, like Boesky, do extraordinarily well in the competitive struggle; it also sets a social standard that is a recipe for global injustice and environmental disaster. We cannot continue to see our goal as acquiring more and more wealth, or as consuming more and more goodies, and leaving behind us an even larger heap of waste.

We tend to see ethics as opposed to self-‐interest; we assume that those who make fortunes from insider trading are successfully following self-‐interest – as long as they don’t get caught – and ignoring ethics. We think that it is in our interest to take a more senior better-‐paid position with another company, even though it means that we are helping to manufacture or promote a product that does no good at all, or is environmentally damaging. On the other hand, those who pass up opportunities to rise in their career because of ethical ‘scruples’ about the nature of the work, or who give away their wealth to good causes, are thought to be sacrificing their own interest in order to obey the dictates of ethics.

Many will say that it is naive to believe that people could shift from a life based on consumption, or on getting on top of the corporate ladder, to one that is more ethical in its fundamental direction. But such a shift would answer a palpable need. Today the assertion that life is meaningless no longer comes from existentialist philosophers who treat it as a shocking discovery: it comes from bored adolescents for whom it is a truism. Perhaps it is the central place of self-‐interest, and the way in which we conceive of our own interest, that is to blame here. The pursuit of self-‐interest, as standardly conceived, is a life without any meaning beyond our own pleasure or individual satisfaction. Such a life is often a self-‐defeating enterprise. The ancients knew of the ‘paradox of hedonism’, according to which the more explicitly we pursue our desire for pleasure, the more elusive we will find its satisfaction. There is no reason to believe that human nature has changed so dramatically as to render the ancient wisdom inapplicable.

Here ethics offer a solution. An ethical life is one in which we identify ourselves with other, larger, goals, thereby giving meaning to our lives. The view that there is harmony between ethics and enlightened self-‐interest is an ancient one, now often scorned. Cynicism is more fashionable than idealism. But such hopes are not groundless, and there


are substantial elements of truth in the ancient view that an ethically reflective life is also a good life for the person leading it. Never has it been so urgent that the reasons for accepting this view should be widely understood.

In a society in which the narrow pursuit of material self-‐interest is the norm, the shift to an ethical stance is more radical than many people realize. In comparison with the needs of people going short of food in Rwanda, the desire to sample the wines of Australia’s best vineyards pales into insignificance. An ethical approach to life does not forbid having fun or enjoying food and wine; but it changes our sense of priorities. The effort and expense put into fashion, the endless search for more and more refined gastronomic pleasures, the added expense that marks out the luxury-‐car market – all these become disproportionate to people who can shift perspective long enough to put themselves in the position of others affected by their actions. If the circle of ethics really does expand, and a higher ethical consciousness spreads, it will fundamentally change the society in which we live.


Appendix 2 | Media and public response to ‘One thing you lack’

Displayed in chronological order

Social media | Facebook


Aaron Moore November 0, 2012 · I.\ •

Friends I would like to invite you to buy whatever it is of mine that you like. My life goes on sale from Spm 4 Dec at KUDOS Gallery, Paddington. Come along, pick up a bargain and make a difference in the lives of the poor.

Aaron Moore I One thing you lack Aaron Moore Art

AARONMOORE COM .AU I BY AARON MOORE

like · Comment · Share

6 Sonia Da l uz, Daniel S. B'lczar, Joshua Dudman and 25 others like this.

~3 shares

Micah McGee Wow. Amazing Aaron. I'm very impressed. If I was a christian, I would be tempted to be inspired and do the same thing. Kudos! Can I ask ... what then? Start-all-over or, just follow 'the way of the disciples'?

November 11, 2012 at 4:00pm · Uke

Nikki Guerin Aaron Moore, what happens afterwards .. Mark 10:21 Jesus looked at him and loved him. "'One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." You are already following Jesus so what happens after you have sold everything:?

November 11, 2012 at 4:10pm· Uke

Micah McGee Agree with Nikki. .. what then Aaron? That's the big question you

need to answer for us!

November 11, 2012 a! 4:12pm· Uke

Rachel Coates Wow this is truty amazing- and inspirational, you legend!

November 0, 2012 at 4:18pm· Uke




Aaron Moore

November 26, 2012 · .l\ •

for those who don't know, I'm currently beginning the process of selling everyth ing I own and giving it to charity in an art exhibition derived from Jesus' command to tlhe rich young ruler (Mark 10:21) that aims to challenge our

perceptions around responsibilities to the poor as well as hopefully make a difference in tlhe lives of those less fortunate. The sell-off opens in Paddington

next week and you are all invited © https://www.facebook.com/events/349596215137012/

Like · Comment · Share

One Thing You Lack Art Exhibition Wednesday, December 5, 201 2 at 1 1:OOam Kudos Gallery 207 people went

[ Going ~ -~

lJ James Copeland, Johanna Harris Tyler, Camilla Simpson and 4 others like this.

~ 1 share

David Tomkins everything? Including all your clothes? Or v.~ll you keep some clothes?

November 26, 2012 at 3:13pm like

Aaron Moore a very common question David and I did almost include that detail

for people like you but felt the status update was becoming rather long. Everything being every material possession 1 own except the clothes I walk out of the house in that day, things it is illegal to sell (eg passport and birth certificate), and electronic data (eg my Facebook page [which Facebock conditions state will be closed do·Nn if sold] and my email [which might cause a number of ethical dilemmas)). Still that leaves plenty up lor sale including plenty of random personal items such as photographs, toiletries and an Oxford degree (if you would like to

buy a second one?) © November 26, 2012 at 4:01pm · like












2015


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152571850051881&set=a.10150947323661881.410005.585921880&type=1

2015

2015

2015

2015

2015

2015

2015

2015

2015

2015


The Leader



' A couple of people have said I'm crazy for doing this but when you look

at the difference between Africa and here this is actually the sane thing to

do.'

Mr Moore will sell his bed, motorbike, photo albums, surfboard and

c lothes, along with everything he has collected over his 34 years.

He said anything that doesn't sell during the exhibition would be donated

to the Salvation Army.

UP FOR GRABS

Exhibition: One Thing You Lack

Venue: Kudos Art Gallery, 6 Napier Street, Paddington

Opens: Spm to 7pm, Tuesday, December 4

Details: http :ljaaronmoore com.au.


http://www.theleader.com.au/story/1130688/a-‐glimpse-‐of-‐poverty-‐inspires-‐total-‐sell-‐off/?cs=24


The Art Life

http://theartlife.com.au/2012/one-‐thing-‐you-‐lack/

the art life " .. . tt's JUSt ltke saymg 'the good ltfe'" ,

One Thing You Lack Posted by Carne M~ler • November 30, :2012 • Pnnter -fnenctt

From Carrie Miller ...

In a type of role-reversal of the contemporary art Bad Boy, Aaron Moore isn't shooting at canvases, drinking himself death, or even just ruining nice people's dinner parties- he's emptying his bank accounts, hauling everything he owns down to Kudos Gallery, offering it for sale, and donating the proceeds to the poor.

In One Thing You Lacl<, Moore grapples with the issue of what it means to live in a world of more than 6 billion people where he knows he's the 58. 089, 141 st richest person because he's able to Google it on globalnchhstcom. He also knows it's an indefensible s1tuat1on that we as aud1ence members will be all too aware of us as we wander through the gallery looking for a bargam among his possessions, which includes a precious heirloom.

But the 34 year-<J id Christian aid worker is not simply making a preachy statement about being better than all of the rest of us; whars interesting about this work is that the artist himself is aware that it raises many more ethical questions than it could ever answer.

Art didn't seem important in the scheme of things when Moore dropped out of art school to pursue a life of activism and service. He's still unsure of its sigmficance in a world where a billion people are currently starving. Of course, the logic of capitalism dictates that this Good Boy of Australian Art will probably find himself in the ironic position of having a hit show on his hands. Go along and buy one of Moore's possessions - you may actually save a life and 1n the process help to re-affirm the value of art.

Until December 8 Kudos Gallery, Paddington. Pic: Aaron Moore. One Thing You Lack, various dimensions. 2012. Courtesy the artist.


The Sydney Morning Herald

'tl!t ~!!bnry ~orning 1jrrnlb

lifc& style Could you sell every possession you own? December 4, 2012 Comments ! 21 Read tater

Sarah Berry

Ufe & Style reporter

View more artie les from Sarah Berry

.J Follow Sarah on Twitter g Email Sarah

- Tweet GJ l t(i,H,¥ ~2361 8• Share 0 I 'PIIIt.t I IQl submit

~ Email article &h Print @ Reprints & permissions

Aaron Moore, artist and aid worker, is selling every single item he owns to raise money to help African children.

Sydney artist and aid worker, Aaron Moore, is about to start the auction of his life. On Tuesday evening, the 34-year-old plans to sell everything he owns and give all the proceeds to the non-forprofit organisation for which he works, Global Concem.

Whether or not people will want his undies (clean, he assures me), is questionable, but other items, including a near-new motorbike, his surfboard, laptop and iPhone, are sure to generate interest. His artwork is up for a silent auction and he is even auctioning off his room for the

duration of the show. There won't be a bed (that, of course, is going too) but, the lucky recipient wi II have to share with his flatmates, "tvvo good-looking fell as, which might be a selling point" and they will have "direct water views."


It's also for a good cause. Around 8 million people a year die of preventable illness due to poverty, according to the UN and, in Aaron's line of work, which has taken him to hotspots such

as Malaw i and Zambia, he has \~itne.s.s.e.d.f.a.r. t()()rJ1LIC.h.o.f.th.is.~rs.t h.<!r1d.·

"You get used to seeing those kinds of things happen," he says, relating a story of a child in Africa, whose death from malaria could have been prevented with a $10 mosquito net. ''Then at the end of three weeks work I get to go and bungy jump off Victoria Falls for a hundred dollars."

This inequality made him question himself and his obligation to the wider community. "Basically, the exhibit ion ... is challenging some of the responsibility we have to the poor."

He takes his inspiration from Australian philosopher and activist, Peter Singer, who posed an ethical challenge in his seminal essay, Famine, Affluence, and Morality. Singer said that if you passed a drowning child, your obligation to save them would far outweigh the expense of replacing the (theoretical) new clothes you would wreck in the process. The extension of that thought was that there are many dying children whose lives could be saved for the cost of a pair of shoes.

"It's something I'm trying to explore personally," Moore says. There are some items he will find painful to part with, such as the watch his grandfather gave his father as a university graduation present. Aaron's father then passed it down the line to him, when he was a child. "But, to who do I owe greater responsibility?" he asks. "My father or to the poor people whose lives could be saved?"

Giving up your worldly goods is not a new concept. In 2001, London installation artist, Michael

Landy, f.Cin110.LIS.IY. S.I1r.e.cl<!r1d.9r()LIIld.CIII},QQ6.()f.h.is.b.e.le>n.gii)9S. as a protest against consumerism.

And, for centuries, ascetics from various religions have renounced their material possessions to pursue their spiritual goals. But , Moore insists he is just an ordinary bloke.

"I struggle with this," he says. ''The last few days have been much harder than I thought they would be ... I'm in no way a saint or a monk. I've tried to get out of putting some things up [for auction]. Dumb things - like a coin collection my father gave me as a young boy.

"I add to it ... I've been to about 40 countries and collect coins as my momento of each place." He'd decided to keep the whole collection at his dad's house and say it wasn't his - before the

guilt set in. So the coins, the watch (which his father intends to buy back), the undies and the artworks - along with everything else he owns - will go on sale.

He insists he's no martyr and that his material-free status will not last for long. "My pay will come into my account the following week and ... I'll start again," he says. In the meantime, he hopes to raise enough money to save a few drowning children. ''To me, it's important not just to talk the

talk, but to walk the walk."


.9..rre.. ... !/Jif!.!LY..Cl.IJ. .. ~Ci.c.':<: launches tonight at 5pm, Kudos Gallery in Paddington. The auction will run until Sunday.

21 comments so far

Dont you just love philosophers ? No grasp of reality at all ! Why would saving a child from drowning, ruin your clothes (new or otherwise) ? What is this hypothetical child drowning in-oil based paint? And if I saw a child drowning, and could do anything to save them - the possible damage to my clothes would not even occur to me ' Reality check please. Anyway. Good luck to Aaron ! (but I wont be bidding on his underwear no matter how clean it is)

Avatar I Reality Dec ember 04, 2012, 3:43PM

I think he has been smokin' da weed too long man' Just donate to World Vision and sponsor a child or two to make a real difference.

Ben I CBD December 04, 2012, 5:20PM

@Avatar You are missing the point.. read this ... http:/twww.utilitarian.neUsinger/by/1972-.htm

SB I Mentone December 04, 2012, 5:47PM

It's been done plenty of times before in the media. Good on him though. Just make a pile and burn it aiL But keep the watch ...

Xyz I Burleigh December 04, 2012, 3:46PM

I considered logging on to buy one of his items but why should i be the one who is condoning consumerism?

I donated instead. good cause, and great way to bring this to people's attention. I will also be reading the Singer article.

Well done

inspired I melbourne December 04, 2012, 3:56PM

I got all my worldly possessions down to one bag and as much as I can store on my hard drive.

Things are overrated, see if you can get what you have down to the minimum and have more time and space for you.

Flingebunt I Brisbane December 04, 2012, 4:28PM

err ... but after his next payday he says he'll just start buying stuff again - why not subvert the whole thing and donate his next pay to charity? Oh, then the 'journalists' wont have a story and this 'artiste' wont get exposure- excuse my cynicism. Dear-oh-dearyou couldn1 make this up'

3FS I sydney December 04, 2012, 4:55PM


... and then what when you can1 operate without your bits n pieces, then you go out & buy more! How truly stupid. You may as well buy some stuff now & donate it to the poor. Actually you owe a greater responsibility to your father & grandfather than you do to the so-ealled "poo(' ... Dad etc nurtured you and passed on a heritage, to sell their watch is just a betrayal of their trust. I'm appalled. I'm speechless at that, that's a vile thing to do, not a wonderful thing at all. What a total load of codswallop.

JJ I December 04,2012, 5:1 8PM

Totally agree, get rid of everything else if it makes you feel better but keep the bloody watch. My Dad and Grandfather would be (rightly) horrified if I did such a thing -what a disgraceful insult to your own heritage.

Cam I Sydney December OS, 2012, 11 :SSPM

Do you ever really own anything?

Charlie I Paddys Pub December 04, 2012, 5:29PM

Can1 believe people are knocking this. I can only guess that people feel threatened by Aaron's gesture. Scared, mean spirited people.

ANY contribution is great no matter how imperfect. Aaron is doing a wonderful, and difficult and meaningful thing. The press is good because it generates thought and anyone doing anything out of the box in this conformist world is extra, extra good. Nice work Aaron.

mimistar I mtdruitt December 04,2012, 8:28PM

He's just another artist... move along ...

Spender I Sydney December OS, 2012, 3:41 PM

But by his own admission he is just going to start buying stuff again anyway, why not just donate some cash to a charity- why the stunt with selling everything right down to his underwear?? I get it's about the "sacrifice" but that's just to make it feel more meaningful for him; it wont make any difference to the dying children that can just as effectively be saved by donating cash. Cash is cash whether you sell eveything including family heirloms or just set up a direct debit.

Cam I Sydney December 06, 2012, 12:01AM

If I had to choose, I would choose possessions over people every time.

So no. I would never sell everything I own.

Philrp I Wahroonga December OS, 2012, 9:26AM

To anyone knocking Aaron, exactly what have YOU done recently to raise the plight of the poor, poverty and inequality recently?

Michael I melbourne December OS, 2012, 9:30AM


What's so great about 'raising the plight?' It's FIXING the plight that's required. Part of the problem is that so many people think just talking about something is sufficient. Aaron will at least be handing over some money, which is better than nothing, but systemic problems need systemic solutions. That's where I ind fault with Singer's thesis: it's just en•jless bandaiding.

photondancer I Decemrer 05, 2012, 9:56AM

@photondancer, Aaron works for an aid agency, donates money himself and at the same time raises the plight of the causes he is clearly passionate about. Nc-one asked him to do it, and I cant see him quoted anywhere saying his actions will end all that is wrong in the world. So I'm still not SUI~ Wllctl UJJSt:!l!:> you SU. Mayi.Jt! JJUSl SUI lit! tlt!lails Uf YUUI lilt! SiS fUI WUIItJ I.Jt!llt!l lllt!l ll, Qlltl 11101 t!

than just 'We need systematic solutions." Give us something wit~ some meat, some substance, something actionable. You're obviously without peer in that regard. No, seriously, do it. You and your like-minded fellows on this string should perhaps try to use your powers for good and actually come up with something rather than knock one bloke who's doing his best. I await your thorough, end-to-end plan to end poverty and equal ty.

Michael I Melbourne December OS, 2012, 12:37PM

*in..tequality.

Michael I Melbourne December OS, 2012, 12:50PM

Wow, this is pretty mind blowing. There is no way I could go without everything I own. And I'm so happy that his Dad is buying that watch!

This has made me take sericusly something I usually do for fun, buy charity presents to go along with Christmas presents. I ran oul of time last year, and felt a bit guilty bul got over it. This year I'm all organised and plan to make it happen this Sunday from the Oxfam shop. Reaching to those in need is so important.

Jesse I Melbourne Dec ember 05, 2012, 1 0:20AM

HA~r. hA~r . . 1.1 1 ;:;m wonc1Arino if hy tAiling thA wnrlrl how m11r.h thA w~tr.h ~nrl r.nin~ mA~nt tn him. some wonderful person wont purchase them and give them back to Aaron The Publicity Gesturer. I hope not.

Also Appalled I December OS, 2012, 10:30AM


http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/could-‐you-‐sell-‐every-‐possession-‐you-‐own-‐20121204-‐2asns.html


Bible society

Christian artist sells all he owns and gives to the poor

CHRISTIAN LIVING I Kaley Payne -=- Fhi~&Ofl .,Facebook

Christian artist Aaron Moore is making waves for poverty today, launching his latest exhibition in which all hiS possess1ons take centre stage- to be auctioned and sold for charity.

The 34 year old from Cronulla in Sydney's south says he wants to challenge himself and others in the way we respond to poverty. Citing Jesus' teaching on the rich young man (Lllk.!l!8..:!8..:~3; Ma.!~..:!g~! ~2.§) Moore has entitled the exhibition One Ttung You Lack.

Tonight the exhibition will launch and Moore has a week to sell everything he owns, Including his motorbike. surfboards, all his clothes, a watch given to him by his father and handed down from his grandfather, and a sent1mental co1n collection. also a family keepsake. He's also g1ving away all he has in sav1ngs. He'd sell his apartment too. but he doesn't own it. Instead, Moore has arranged for an auction of 5 nights in his sea-view shared apartment at the consent of his roommates.


"There's no easy answer to these moral questions about responsibility for poverty," says Moore. "But we're going to the movies and drinking chai lattes while 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty."

"I don't have it figured out - I'm not a saint or a monk. I was on a dirt floor in Africa on mission and at the end of my month there blew a chunk of money b ungee jumping before I came home. I'm pointing that out, and opening up discussion. Perhaps Christ's words to the rich man are relevant to us today - they're certainly rei evant to me."

In the eyes of most Australians, Moore is not rich. He doesn't own his home or drive an expensive car. With a quick head calculation, Moore estimates his possessions and savings total less than 520,000. But on world standards, Moore sa¥[' he is one of the wealthiest. In fact, the Globalrichlist.com tells him he is 58,086,141 richest person in the world. (You can rank yourself here.)

Moore also points to philosopher Peter Singer's 'drowning child' analogy to explain his motive for the exhibition. In 1997, Singer wrote an article for New Internationalist, in which he asked the question of who is morally responsible for saving a child drowning in a pond as you walk by. According to Singer, the responsibility one feels in such a situation should extend beyond location to children perishing overseas. Singer argues the child drowning in a pond next to you and the child dying from the effects of poverty overseas are "equally within your means to save, at no great cost - and absolutely no danger - to yourself."

In comparing the two positions on rich and poor, Moore says, "Christ's words are different. WMst the poor are assisted through what Christ says, he's pretty much talking about the rich man and the thing that needs to change in him. I think that's relevant for me, and others like me. We need to change."

Giving his 'stuff away hasn't been an easy decision for Moore- nowhere near as easy as he thought.

"In our heads, we like to think we aren't the rich young man that Jesus talks to. We think it won't be difficult to give it all away. But I've caught myself trying to hide things so they don't get sold, making excuses for why I should keep my grandfather's watch. I've struggled with that .. . It's really sad when I look at my own life and my own heart."

Moore is curr·ently studying at the New South Wales College of Fine Art while working as global missions manager at NGO Global Concern. He says his experience on mission has brought him to this point.

"On one trip a few months ago I was in !Kenya visiting an orphanage in the mountains. It's cold there, and there are a few hundred kids. They wanted to install a hot water system, but they didn't have the money. Some of the kids were getting sick - they'd boil water on fire for the little ones, but couldn't do rt for all.


http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/christian-‐artist-‐sells-‐all-‐he-‐owns-‐and-‐gives-‐to-‐the-‐poor


Sorted






16 responses to "I have Aaron Moore's stuff"

Tracey January 29,2013 al 12:40 prr ~

This story actually made me feel quite sad. I just hope that Aaron doesn't

regret it. Whilst I can understand the high anyone might get from ridding

themselves of stuff I think that after a while I for one- would regret getting rid

of all of my personal memorabilia.

Lissanne Oliver "" 211 201 • p

I hear you Tracey but I can only assume Aaron gave his decision

much consideration, over a lengthy period of time. I reckon he

might not have had the high either - but perhaps he'll comment

and let us know! Chin up- maybe his memorabilia wasn't that

precious too him anyway!

sense in the senseless Februa'Y 2013 at 337 pm

I know Aaron, he knew exactly what he was doing. He has

a heart for the lord and those in need. When people are

struggling to eat, what are material possessions really

worth?

Tracey Januar, 29,2013 al 1 08 P'T' Reply

Hi Lissa nne - here is the question that's intriguing me - what are YOU going

to do with Aaron's stuff? LOL

Lissanne Oliver ~ 201 a IS

Ah!!! Well, lef s hear a few more comments from others before I

tell you ~


Jodi January 29 2013 at8:35 ptr ~

I was thinking the same thing as Tracey. What are you going to do \1\oith it? I

can understand some of the things you got as being easy to let go but some

(like the Bible) look too precious to let go. I hope that he achieves what he

wants with this project

John & Mary McPherson January 29, 2013 at 9A8 Plr ~

Hello Lissanne,

This is such a touching and inspirational story about Aaron. Amazing man and

he will be richly blessed by God. So interesting, and about he sold his well

used Bible too .. What translation is it? We are a Christian family who love our

Lord.

Hugs and God Bless

Mary McPherson.

Katie Januaf\' 3 2013 a; 3:25 pw Reply -

When I first read about this project I thought, could I do this? See article:

http://www.smh.eom.au/lifestylellife/could 4 you-sell-every-possesslon-you-own-

20121204-2asns.html

I'd find it extremely hard but think yes I could , with some provisos! After all if a

bush fire or storm destroyed my home I would most want to have my

photos/albums/negatives and am slowty digitising these in case of just such a

catastrophe. I'd grab my external hard drive & be off! Plus, one day, they'll all

be stored in 'the cloud• so I won't even need the hard drive. ©

Aaron talked about two things which were particularly hard to part wilh: 'the

watch his grandfather gave his father as a university graduation present' and

a coin collection his father gave him as a young boy. I wonder about who

bought them and have they retumed them to him as Aaron's intention was not

to permanently downsize.


I think I'd find it easier to part with sentimental possessions and memorabilia il

it had been beautifully photographed (as all his possessions had been for the

exhibition/sale). Meanwhile, I do take photos of any possessions that I'm

letting go of that I may wish to remember. The photos a ren't as beautiful as

his but they'll provide wonderlul memories, if/when required.

Ussanne O liver Ja '=1.1 20 o::~t 1.:: ~

Thanks for your comments, Katie! I too first read about this project at the

SMH website ... agreed, the coins and watch were a big heart-grabbing.

I like that you speak of the potential loss of photos due to a force of nature

and that you're preparing, just in case. I admit, I'm a fair way behind you on

that front, but trying!

Aaron January 31 2013 at 4 58 pm Reply ~

Hi Ussanne,

Nice post. Was interesting to hear your perspective on the exhibition and my

stuff, and that of those who commented. The exhibition raises quite a number

of issues and I've generally tried to let people take from it what they will

w ithout imposing my interpretation upon them. However, a few things to think

about might be:

1. Most of these item s (such as the bed room tile and ribbons) have sat in a

box for the las115 years. I have opened the box to look at them on 4-5

occasions over that period and the items brought back some fond memories.

really enjoy the memories they brirlQ but what if they had an even more

important value?


2. The monetary value of the items has been pegged at SSO, the equivalent of

5 mosquito nets, each of which can protect 2 adults or 3 children. Global

Concern is an NGO that can take my $50, buy the 5 nets and distribute them

to those in extreme poverty, usually pregnant mothers, the d isabled, elderly,

widows and orphans in households earning under S2 a day. An estimated 216

million people contfact malaria every year resulting in 655,000 deaths, 86% of

which are children under 5. Mosquito nets are the most effective means of

preventing malaria. There appears a good chance that if the SSO is used on

nets then at least one of the 5 nets may save the life of a child. To whom do I

owe the greater moral obligation, myself and the 4·5 occasions on which I will

enjoy the memories of the box, OR the 10· 15 people requiring protection from

malaria (which I can't contract here) and of which at least 1 life might be

saved?

3. The Bible appears to make a similar challenge in luke 3:11 ... "the man

w~h 2 jackets should share with him who has none." We might be sad to let

our second jacket go, but would we be more sad to see someone cold and

suffering without a jacket at all?

Lissanne Oliver Jar a.y 20 3 a! ..:

Hey Aaron! So great to hear from you! I really appreciate that you have

allowed observers to make their own inte rpretations. And I really appreciate

the reminder of how your actions made such an overwhelming difference in

other's lives. Our safe little Western work! is so far removed from suffering.

am amazed I don't have to toil for fresh water each day, that I travet for

"pleasure"' (certainly not to search for food or to escape hardship), that I am

a [relatively) extremely wealthy white woman with a dollar in my pocket and

choices on my horizon.

Thank you Aaron, for your bigger picture thinking and for the valuable

reminder. I hope it motivates one or aJI who hear your story to take action.

In the meantime, do you have an update on the coins or watch? I think

peeps would love to hearl


Aaron Januarv 31 2013 at 5 33 P"' Reply

In answer to a few of the other readers:

Tracy- no reg rets .. yet! I didn't really feel that 'high• either. However, if you

think it is the right thing to do (as I hinted in my previous comment) then I think

its not so sad. In fact d you think it is the right thing to do then not doing it

might be sadder

Jodi - the Bible did travel round the world with me a few times in my back

pocket but there are plenty more Bible's out there .

John and Mary - Its a Gideon bible. There is a story behind it. About 12 years

ago I was reading my bible in the morning on the train to work The guy next

to me started asking me questions about it. He seemed genuinely interested

so I gave it to him just before I got off at my s top. Jn the evening that same

day, as I got on the train to go home, a guy with a box of Gideon bibles \Na.S

standing on the platform and offered me one. This is that bible.

Katie- Yes I agree that having all the objects photographed in some v...-ays

may have softened the blow. But it also made me look at each individual item

up close and recognise its meaning and value which I think also made it more

drtficult to part w ith in, but I wanted the selling of the items to be a very

conscious decision where I chose to give it up for another purpose (instead of

just dumping boxes of stuff I had forgotten about).

The other items-The coin collection was bought by an anonymous buyer

who took the lot and I haven't seen it since (I had volunteers selling my items

so I never dealt with the buyer and the volunteer refused to disclose

anything). The watch was purchased by my father as soon as the exhibition

opened. To my surprise I unwrapped it under the tree at Christmas.

lissanne O liver "" '' 20 • 5 5J • ~

Love the bible story! It confirms my belief that when we let go (even if it's of

people or things we think matter) something or someone else will appear

pretty quickly!



Wesley Impact


Screened on Channel 9 and pay TV http://www.wesleymission.org.au/home/our-‐words/wesley-‐impact-‐tv/refugee-‐week/


Bible society

Reflections of a man who sold everything and gave it to the poor

REFLECTION I Aaron Moore

Uonday 1 July 2013

~Fhlut• ._. Facebook ~ Twitter

On 5 December 2012, 34-year-old mternalional a1d worker and art1st, Aaron Moore sold everyrhmg ne owned and gave 11 to the poor. 'One mmg you lack' was a performance based on two texts regarding the poor, one theological and the other philosophical. The hrst was Jesus s command to the nch young man, round m the book or I,(J~!L18.c.!_B.:2..:t to 'sell everylhing you own and give it to the poor. The second was a challenge by uttlltanan, Peter Smger, who believes 'If we can prevent somethmg bad, Without sacnt1cmg anythmg of comparable signtficance, we ought to do 1t.' Aaron sa1d the performance challenges our nght to retam wealth when faced by me needs of those m extreme poverty.

Here, Aaron wfltes a renect1on tor Etermty on what It was l1ke to gtve up all he had and whether he thmks 11 made any difference:


Strangers sat on my bed and rummaged through my bedside table drawers: a woman placed a bid on my university degree; a flatmate handed over a few dollars for my beard trimmer; a man tried on my suit; someone inspected my half eaten boxes of cereal; people pointed out paintings and drawings they wanted to purchase; hundreds of my personal photographs were emptied out onto a table being carefully perused by a small crowd; a middle-aged man flipped through my tax records and other files to find an old X-ray, withdrew it from its envelope and held it up to the light to get a better looK.

'One thing you lack' was my first solo art exhibition and opened to a few hundred people in Kudos Gallery, Paddington, just before Christmas. That was a matter of months ago when at the age of 34 I sold everything I owned in the space of one week. I emptied the contents of my bank accounts and, along with the proceeds from the sale, gave it to charity, moving me to financial and material ground zero in the hope of moving others out of poverty.

The artwork was based on two texts regarding the poor, one theological and the other philosophical. The first was Jesus Christ's command to the rich young man, found in the book of Luke, to 'sell everything you own and give it to the poor'. The second was a challenge by utilitarian Peter Singer who believes 'if we can prevent something bad, without sacrificing anything of comparable significance, we ought to do it. '

In practical terms: if the value of an item in our possession (like pair of shoes) could be used to save a life, such as paying for the immunisation of a child in a developing nation, then we are morally obliged to use it for this purpose. Overall, the performance challenged our right to retain wealth when faced by the needs of those in extreme poverty by undertaking the simple act of selling everything and giving it to the poor.

As you might expect, selling everything you own in one weeK is not necessarily an easy task, but it's by no means impossible. All my major items - motorbiKe, laptop, iPhone, surfboard, wetsuit, paintings - 1 placed on a seven day auction, with no reserve, and opening bids of one cent. They all sold. The rest of my possessions were set up in a gallery space that closely resembled my home with a study, bedroom, art studio, bathroom, kitchen and garage, and sold by a small team of volunteers.

1 assumed that some items wouldn't sell - old clothes, linen, worn books - so 1 organised to deliver and donate what was left to the local Salvation Army store. But I actually thought that even the Salvos wouldn't take much of what remained. What about used underwear for instance? Since the aim of the artwork was to help the poor, not simply pass items to someone to throw in the trash, I questioned the manager as I dropped the boxes off, "Do you really want my personally inscribed under 12's soccer trophies and marathon medals?" "Oh yes," he said, "we'll mark them at one dollar each and people will buy them for an Olympics dress up party." When I returned to deliver the second load of goods, my medals were already in the bargain box, my boxer shorts were hanging on the racK.


Some predicted that selling all would leave me stuck in the gutter, lost in squalor, indefinitely destitute. keenly awaiting another more 'sensible' person to stoop down and rescue me. And that, they said, was exactly why they refused to do it. Others felt it would have little effect.

"Let's face it," one mate said, "if you really want, the day after the exhibition, you can pick up a free iPhOne 4 [on a phOne contract] and within a few months you'll have new clothes and be back where you started."

"Yeah," quipped another mate "you'll be back to the rich man who should be selling everything he has: Which begs the question; if it is so easy for all our wealth to return to us, why are we so opposed to letting it all go, even when faced by the needs of those languishing in extreme poverty? When Jesus gave his original command to sell all, the rich young man walked away sad. I guess I hoped I might learn something that he didn't.

I emceed a friend's wedding the same day I closed the exhibition. The bride and groom were married barefoot in an open-air service and no one seemed to mind that I also wasn't wearing any shoes. For a few weeks 1 slept on the floor. using a beach towel for a blanket. Then I went camping for New Years and sleeping on the ground didn't seem so out of place. My flat mate even lent me his inflatable mattress to use on my return.

About a month later, the couple that purchased my bed to accommodate their relatives during the holiday break were moving house and said they were throwing it out. 1 picked it up along with an antique roller desk and beanbag. They were getting rid of their couches too but I said I didn't need them. I generally lived simply, for example I didn't buy new clothes, but these few larger items made it appear like at least I was no longer squatting.

My break from pocket technology was even more fleeting. After only two days of freedom, my mother fished partly-operational cellphone out of the house junk draw and handed it to me under the instruction that even if I didn't need to contact others, they (meaning my Mum) would still like to contact me. Whilst 1 accepted the phone, 1 didn't replace my laptop but began devouring books instead, particularly during my now regular rides on public transport.

The artwork moved a private conviction into the public sphere. I originally hoped to do it in secret, but selling everything requires you to show people everything. It's basically impossible to sell all and not have others notice. The very act demands a level of public disclosure, and undertaking the act as an artwork provided greater opportunity for open dialogue throughout that process.

I was tempted to hide items and there were moments I pretended items weren't mine in the hope of keeping them in my life. When I revealed my internal struggle to sell an old watch my father received at his graduation and then gave me as a child, one person called the act of selling it an 'insult to your own heritage.' Yet another labelled the same decision a 'mind blowing' demonstration that encouraged her to purchase this year's Christmas presents from a store.


'One thing you lack' wasn't really a solo show; in the same way John Donne said 'no man is an island.' In order to sell everything 1 needed people to buy everything. Those that recognised this irony came up with their own creative means of dealing with it.

Some decided to abstain from the consumerism of buying my possessions and simply demonstrated their support by donating directly to Global Concern, the charity my funds supported. Others demonstrated their solidarity by buying items and then giving them back to me. In the days leading up to Christmas, I unwrapped several possessions purchased at the exhibition and gifted back. I guess it was handy that they could be guaranteed it was my size and style.

There was an obvious tension that I might be supporting the plight of the poor at the expense of my family and friends and I tried in vain to protect them from this. I stated that 1 would accept neither food nor shelter from them. If need be, I would sleep on the street. But these self-imposed rules soon became untenable. When people began buying things with the intention of giving them back at a later stage I gave up. What did it matter if I kept all my rules but had no room for love? The exhibition was possible because the people around me helped me to move, buy and sell everything 1 own in the hope of making a difference in the lives of the poor. The end result was strengthened relationships with friends and family as we bonded together in greater solidarity to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

Thus the real stories of life change belong to thOse in the poorest regions of the globe. Every day 19,000 children die of preventable diseases. Over the past six months, funds raised from 'One thing you lack' supported numerous social development programs throughout Africa and Asia. Enough to cover the full operational costs of a rural Togolese medical clinic, which delivered tens of babies, treated hundreds of patients from life threatening conditions like malaria and cholera, and immunised thousands of children.

It was enough to provide further funding to food security programs in Malawi and Zambia, training poor farmers in conservation farming methods, nutrition, gender and HIV/Aids, all of which is enabling them to become self-sufficient and feed their families all year round. And enough to further support sewing classes for impoverished women in both India and Bangladesh, providing them an opportunity to secure work, increase their incomes and pay for necessities like food, toiletries, medical costs and school fees for their children. As Global Concern's Overseas Projects Manager, I was able to visit some of these communities after the exhibition and see, hear and confirm their stories of change first hand.

The vast majority of my possessions are gone forever. Whilst I could have, I never returned to the Salvo's store to buy the items I left. In my head I'd already cut ties with them. My father bought the watch and gifted it back to me at Christmas.


http://www.biblesociety.org.au/news/reflections-‐of-‐a-‐man-‐who-‐sold-‐everything-‐and-‐gave-‐it-‐to-‐the-‐poor