For Brighton Fringe 2024, ONCA presents Far From Home, an exhibition exploring migrant narratives by two artists, Bern O’Donoghue and Usva Inei. The exhibition narrates distinct stories with common threads that explore identity, borders and belonging. 

At least 20% of Brighton and Hove residents were born outside of the UK, meaning a lot of people are constantly in the process of making home. The city is part of a large network of UK Cities of Sanctuary, a movement committed to building a culture of hospitality and welcome. This exhibition speaks to the diverse yet connected experiences of migrants living in and around the city. It presents a clash of the public and private, the personal and political, the safe and the jarring, to narrate unexpected connections that aim to push audiences to ask questions about the social structures we all participate in. 

The title is taken from the Role-playing game Far From Home created by the Malaysian-based Game Designer Aaron Lim. “Far From Home is a game about immigrants and outsiders. It’s about exploring what it means to live and thrive in a culture that is not fully your own. It’s about how you piece together an identity drawing from multiple cultures, yet never wholly belonging to either.” 

THE ARTISTS 

Bern O’Donoghue

Bern O’Donoghue is a socially-engaged artist with a migrant family history, living in Brighton. Connection and permission are the recurring themes through which Bern examines social and political issues. Through process led practice, mixed media and audience participation, she investigates how simple artistic activities can become catalysts for wider progressive change. Bern is particularly interested in finding ways of using art to create safe spaces for people to have difficult and necessary conversations with others who have different perspectives. Since 2012, she has employed immersive projects to translate tacit meanings about social change, examine the power of words to shape perception and uncover narratives of displacement. Bern aims to increase curiosity and nuanced debate about migration among audiences.

Website

Usva Inei

Usva Inei is a trans non-binary visual artist and arts educator. Working from their lived experiences as a queer Russian immigrant, Usva’s practice addresses current events and ongoing political discourses, focusing on themes of queerness and immigration. Usva mainly works through various forms of original printmaking, such as etching, linocut, and monoprint, often combining these with textiles, painting, and found objects. The main focus of their current work is investigating what it means to be a queer Russian immigrant amongst today’s complex political situation, in which Russian people are both aggressors in a violent war as well as victims of brutal state propaganda and stringent anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Specifically, Usva is exploring topics of misuse of power, suppression of freedom of speech and identity expression, as well as generational trauma.

Website

OPENING TIMES 

Friday 3 May, 4:30 – 7:30pm – Exhibition Launch Party 

Saturday 4th May, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Saturday 5th May, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Wednesday 8 May, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Thursday 9 May, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Friday 10 May, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Wednesday 15 May, 1:30 – 5:30pm

Thursday 16 May, 1:30 – 5:30pm 

Find out what else is happening at ONCA by visiting our programme.