Immigration Game

Pinball Machine 130cm x 72cm x 192cm, Poster 70cm x 100cm; Re-fabricated, fully-functioning, pinball machine, lights, plastic objects and acrylic paint; 2018

Another Country (Part 3) Exhibition Text:

Following the EU referendum in 2016, a study for King’s College, London concluded that the campaign was dominated by “overwhelmingly negative” media reports about the impact of immigration. Media interest in immigration more than tripled during the campaign, accelerating faster than any other political issue.

The work employs satire and focuses on the non-migrant, native majority in Britain, highlighting how it views migration, often influenced by the media. All the images in the work are taken directly from media sources. 

The average length of time a broadcasted news item lasts and a pinball machine is designed to be played, is three minutes. The implication of the work is that people consume news articles in the media almost as entertainment with a considerable degree of detachment. As in the game, they often switch off relatively unaffected and continue with their lives when the article ends. However, for actual migrants, the situation is anything but a ‘game’ and the work references the precariousness of many of the journeys made. With so many lives lost attempting to reach their destination safely, statistically migration can, at times, seem like a lottery or a game of chance.