21st October, 2008

NELL POTTER

I was honoured to be asked by Micah Challenge to produce a work of art around the theme of 'Global Partnership' to feature in the their Create to Advocate exhibition in Parliament House, Canberra.

As I reflected on how I could best depict the Millennium Goal 8 of Global Partnership, the theme of 'home' came to mind.

Over 230 people from the Micah Challenge campaign recently gathered in our nation's 'house' in partnership with the poor - to advocate through word and image on their behalf.

Parliament House is an immensely important building. The decisions made there can have life changing repercussion the world over. My hope is that these decisions will be made wisely, respectfully and justly.

I wanted to bring the living conditions of the majority world into view. Such as Tanzanian women waiting in line for their buckets to be filled with water; an Internally Displaced People's camp in East Timor, the occurrence of which will be an even greater reality with the impacts of climate change on poor communities; children on the streets of Ecuador earning a living shining shoes rather than attending school; an African woman cooking inside her unventilated hut, and a slum in Mumbai showing poor water and sanitation conditions. These are unacceptable living conditions that no one should have to endure.

Politicians who were present at the opening of the Create to Advocate exhibition were invited to sign on the white part of the building in the painting, as a gesture of their willingness to work in partnership with the poor to eradicate extreme poverty. Subsequent to the opening, Micah Challenge was inundated with phone calls by politicians wanting to sign the painting, which is now crowded with signatures, including the Prime Minister's.

I hope this painting will act as a reminder to those politicians who signed it, that they can be a catalyst for change in the lives of the poor by seeking justice for all.

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