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In his conceptual project "Dirty Messages", Thaer Maarouf tackles the themes of flight, migration and asylum from an artistic perspective.

For this reason, Maarouf has sent twelve parcels out into an uncertain world, each containing a pair of worn shoes from a refugee. The wearers of these shoes have all left a long, difficult and dusty path behind them, and crossed manyborders on foot in order to flee from war and death. All in the hope of finding a better and safer life.

Nine parcels have been sent to various heads of state around the world, and three parcels have been sent to randomly-chosen addresses.

Alongside the shoes, all the parcels contain a personal letter with a QR code linked to a video. The video is a part of the attempt to capture personal moods and feelings as well as the background which connects Maarouf himself with the theme of flight. In addition, it documents the development of the entire project from idea to implementation.

Fundamentally, however, the focus of the conceptual work is on the sending of the shoes. The randomly-selected recipients will be requested in a letter to forward the shoes on. The shoes should therefore be constantly on the move, never standing still and never coming to rest. As objects, the shoes stand as a symbolic representation of the personal destinies of individual refugees who were stopped at a certain point on their long journey, before they were able to reach their actual destination: a place offering safety and protection. The old shoes, dirty from the long flight, make something intangible tangible. They are real and immediate, as opposed to the abstract figures recording the number of people on the run.

By sending the shoes, Maarouf wants to highlight the often insurmountable problems and obstacles encountered by people on the run, and to raise awareness of the current situation faced by refugees worldwide. While the shoes are able to cross boundaries easily, and to reach their destinations without the need to break laws or put themselves in danger, refugees are often faced with insurmountable borders and hurdles.

With his work, the artist opens up a new space to look at the subject of flight and migration from a different perspective, leaving a great deal of scope for individual interpretation and discussion of this topic. In reflecting on this work, each of us can ask ourselves the question of what it means to leave our homeland, to be faced with closed borders and not be free in the search for protection and safety.

On June 23rd, 2017, Thaer Maarouf sent 12 parcels from Vienna to:

The President of the United States of America | Washington, DC

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom | London

The President of the Republic of Poland | Warszawa

Le Président de la République française | Paris

Il Presidente della Repubblica Italiana | Roma

The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth Australia | Canberra

El Presidente del Gobierno de España | Madrid

The President of the Russian Federation | Moscow

The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt | Heliopolis

Random address | Hungary

Random address | Greece

Random address | Lebanon

Video - Director: Jakob Haueisen, DOP: Markus Klaes

Photos: Jakob Haueisen

Text: Nic Stalder

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