Ship of Hope

On a project in Lahore, Pakistan, I felt uncomfortable making a work when I was a white Christian outsider and a representative of its colonial history. Considering the difficult political climate and bleak outlook on the future, I proposed to develop a ‘Ship of Hope’ to be entirely constructed by the public (i.e. not me or other artists) on the condition that whatever form it was in, in 3 days we would launch it into the City’s central canal, and if it sunk, Hope was dead and, if it floated, Hope would survive.  Built by bankers, students, housewives, maids and homeless children, it did not engage the skills of any professional builders/constructors, and begun to act as a metaphor for the social cohesion and ability of a group to work towards a better future