Charlie Blackledge

 
  i Tempête -wip  .   ii Collected Memorials -wip  .   iii Vessels-wip  .   Dublined  .   A Richer Dust  .   Community  .   Info                                                                                                                            

Ripped Federal Republic of Ethiopia passport found underneath rubbish bin
May 2025 

Baby’s hat and red bull can
June 2025 

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Unused baby life jacket with scissor or knife cuts . Motive and identify of vandal unknown   
June 2025 


Unused toddler life jacket with scissor or knife cuts. Motive and identify of perpetrator unknown   
June 2025 



Two finished children's juice pouches  
July 2025 


Two children’s lifejacket safety guides 
September 2025 


Italian Red Cross identification card from Lampedusa. 
The island is a frequent point of arrival for people crossing the Mediterranean sea from North Africa. 
Dated on the back 25 August, found 15 days later. 
September 2025


Amaric bible, broken ballpoint pen and tear gas 
September 2025


L'attestation de demande d'asile (ATDA). The asylum application certificate (ATDA) is a document given to those seeking asylum in France.
It allows them to move freely within the country during the asylum procedure. 
It can be valid anywhere between 6 months to 10 months. 
March 2026 


A6 Notebook found at shoreline 
April 2026 


A6 Notebook found at shoreline 
April 2026 


A6 Notebook found at shoreline 
April 2026 


Tear gas canisters and discarded clothes collected by beach cleaners
April 2026 

Collected Memorials  

Work in progress; long term project researching the UK/ France border & what is often termed by the UK press ‘small boats’ migration.   

This work comprises different stories which overlap, clash and sometimes contradict; like the true crisis of complexity on the Côte d'Opale.  

Visualisation of the border and those try to make the crossing frequently focusses on a singular act and a specific geographical positioning - people getting on boats in the sea. What is out of frame? what happens before they reach the sea?    

‘The repeated use of certain motifs can dull our senses and direct them to interpretations ‘asylum seekers have primarily been represented as medium or large groups and through a focus on boats. We argue that this visual framing, (...) associates refugees not with a humanitarian challenge, but with threats to sovereignty and security.’*  

The beaches are strewn with possessions, hastily discarded at a crossing possibility. Other objects point to unseen events of state intervention. 
Objects act as evidence of trauma or portraits of past presence.  

* ‘The visual dehumanisation of refugees’ Roland Bleiker David Campbell Emma Hutchison & Xzarina Nicholson 2013


                                                    
                       
   © Charlie Blackledge