Refugees II c. 1914 - 1919

Curator: Jean-Louis Forain created this pencil drawing titled "Refugees II" around 1914 to 1919. Editor: The sketch-like quality immediately conveys a sense of transience, almost like capturing a fleeting moment of hardship. Curator: It’s the First World War period, and we should remember Forain was deeply affected. Consider how quickly he was able to execute it. Pencil on paper suggests both the urgency and accessibility of expressing what was unfolding at the time, mass displacement. Editor: The image of the mother, head bowed, leading the cart… she carries the weight of collective sorrow. Her clothing obscures her form, dehumanizing and representative of so many women in that era of turmoil. It’s interesting that Forain decided not to emphasize the particular or anecdotal aspects of this experience. Curator: He's highlighting labor, a working class of women doing the grunt work. It prompts consideration of the socioeconomic disruptions caused by war; new supply chains are needed, work needs re-organizing and all whilst mass dispossession ensues. He is speaking to both emotional suffering and also how resources were rapidly depleted. Editor: I see symbols of the collective trauma endured by those displaced during conflict. The covered heads suggest grief, the blurred figures imply their anonymity, but it does bring a universality. We see the individual within a collective crisis, a poignant emblem that evokes human empathy. Curator: Yes, but let’s also think about the production, these were mass-produced drawings intended for public consumption as journalistic illustration. It served a function for propaganda and perhaps even fund raising at the time. Editor: Perhaps we can both agree the artwork powerfully captures the essence of displacement, speaking to shared human experiences during conflict with lasting relevance. Curator: Ultimately, it leaves one with many questions. An artwork functioning both as propaganda yet evoking a human reaction to events. What better testament to the complicated status of an image than this?