A work by artist Anne Dushanko Dobek.
The Ethical Culture Society of Essex County hosted Anne Dushanko Dobek for a talk titled “Artist as Activist – Making Art that Raises Awareness” on Sunday, Feb. 15.
Dobek’s multi-media two- and three-dimensional creations highlight issues of social justice and the environment. Among her causes are the plight of migrants, which she has depicted with flocks of cut-out butterflies and with wooden crosses planted on a beach.
Dobek said that “Perilous Journeys,” is her decades-long series of ongoing installations which reference the crossing of borders by immigrants, migrants and refugees. “I install my work in remote, challenging and non-traditional sites such as oceans, forests and fields, all of which mirror the original locations of real events as reported in The New York Times. My sculptures are based on memorials found in the deserts of Arizona and reference the myriad physical perils inherent in crossing borders.
“I like to think that my ephemeral installations while documenting real events invite conversations on the when, why and how our own relatives came to this country. The borders they crossed were not just physical but psychological and in examining them perhaps we can come to recognize the emotional turmoil so many millions of people are experiencing today in their search for survival, sanctuary and safety,” Dobek said.
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