Pam Douglas’ “Sanctuary” at LAAA 3/20: An Installation of Hope, Tenacity, and Humanity

About

(Los Angeles) – When encountering LA Artist Pam Douglas’s multi-part project “Sanctuary”, viewers become immersed in the journey of hardship and hope undertaken by refugees across the globe throughout history.

With asylum, mass migrations and refugees in current news, this installation evokes the haunting and human side of a political issue. Faces drawn in careful detail and raw sensitivity inspire viewers to feel the tenacity required to make these journeys and the dreams of finding sanctuary.

The project spans years in three distinct parts: refugees journeying by foot, by sea on rafts and the limbo of existence in makeshift shelters. Douglas observes that refugees are rejected as if they’re unwanted commodities; this reaction is referenced in texture and metaphor by the battered coffee bean bags used throughout the installation.  Her limited palette of charcoal and chalk on natural linen and burlap is used to focus on the struggle and the beauty of the faces. The monochromatic “quote” suggests newspaper imagery at a time when immigration is in the news, though none of these figures are actually from newspapers.

In Sanctuary Part One at LAAA/Gallery 825, life-size walking figures envelop the walls, draped ceiling to floor. These are parents seeking refuge, walking to freedom carrying all they can, and children caged behind ropes. In her installation created especially for Cerritos College’s Window Dressing (March 23-April 3), Douglas launches the first preview of Sanctuary Part Two -- travel by sea on rafts. These hand-made crafts, 6 to 7 feet long and 4 to 5 feet tall, float across the vitrine in search of sanctuary.

About Pam Douglas

Los Angeles artist Pam Douglas has been well reviewed in shows including a large installation in the California African American Museum and at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Her work was featured at the Los Angeles Art Show at the Convention Center, January 2019 by the Los Angeles Art Association.

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