Ellie Shakiba

Naurunica

2019

I am an artist and journalist from Iran who resettled in America as a refugee on February 27th, 2019. My experiences as a journalist led me to flee Iran to seek asylum in Australia. The day I arrived, July 19th, 2013, the government passed a new policy called “19th July” which gave the Australian Border Force the right to begin to imprison asylum seekers in Offshore Processing Centers on the South Pacific islands of Nauru and Manus. Six years later, many are still there, despite being found to be refugees.

My box is a model of my Nikon camera which was my weapon to fight the cruelty of Australian government during my six years in Nauru. Inside, there is a small booklet with images of my Nauru painting series, drawings and some of my photographic works for KidsOffNauru, a campaign which sought to release about 150 children. Fortunately the campaign was successful, but there are still hundreds innocent people detained in both prison islands.