Art On Campus
University of Bath
'State of Disappearance’ exhibition
launched at University of Bath
At the start of the new academic term, on 26 September 2024, the University of Bath launched the 'State of Disappearance’ exhibition in the lofty, modern Chancellors' Building.Exhibiting 73 artworks by renowned Mexican abstract painter Chantal Meza, the launch marks the first step in the University’s ambition to bring thoughtful art into the educational environment.
Hosted by Vice Chancellor, Professor Phil Taylor and Professor Deborah Wilson, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences, among the launch’s notable attendees were the Mayor of Bath, Michelle O'Doherty; the Lord-Lieutenant of Somerset, Mr Mohammed Saddiq; and Leader of Bath council, councillor Kevin Guy.
Exploring disappearance
Meza’s evocative collection, created over five years beginning in 2017, explores the concept of disappearance in its many forms—physical, cultural, ecological, and ideological. Situated on the 5th floor of The Chancellors' Building, visitors are encouraged to learn about the issues and consider what role art can play in the future direction of the University. While some of the collection is curated in the open plan space to invite contemplative reflection, in a bold and original move, the collection further continues in the teaching room CB 5.12, bringing the art directly into spaces for learning and conversation. Meza believes this approach is crucial:
"Universities are places where ideas can grow. When you bring together art and education, you create new ways of seeing the world. In this way, art and education are inseparable, as they both aim to explore the past, confront the present, and envision a better future. While I believe the University should be a natural home for art, I am nevertheless honoured and humbled that the University of Bath has warmly embraced this collection".
Inspiring a different conversation
Reflecting its core values of inclusion and diversity, while highlighting its international outlook and evidencing the University’s commitment to supporting ground-breaking research and multi-disciplinary approaches to address the world’s most pressing issues in impactful and ethically considered ways, Meza’s collection was chosen by the University due to its quality, poignancy and relevance.Commenting on the exhibition and the use of art on campus, Vice Chancellor Phil Taylor said:
"It was a real privilege to attend the opening of Chantal Meza’s State of Disappearance collection on campus. I can see how using art in this way can inspire a different conversation about such a complex and challenging topic and I congratulate colleagues from the Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences and Advancement Office for organising this. I encourage students and staff to visit the exhibition in The Chancellors’ Building and I look forward to seeing the art on campus initiative develop further".
The official opening of the exhibition on the evening of 26 September 2024 coincided with the 10th anniversary of the disappearance of 43 students from Ayotzinapa, Mexico—an incident that shocked the world. According to Human Rights Watch, over 100,000 people have disappeared in Mexico since 2006, with thousands of unmarked graves discovered across the country. As with other countries which also face the same problem, enforced disappearance disproportionately affects vulnerable populations, including women, children, and migrants. Commenting on the launch and relevance for the humanities and social sciences at Bath, Professor Deborah Wilson stated:
"Students should feel safe and free, wherever they are in this world. For this reason, among others, the artist believes these works belong in a university setting, for it is through education and the union between image and thoughts, that new worlds are imagined. Worlds that are more peaceful, welcoming, and open to our shared differences".
Bath hosts leading experts and family members of Ireland’s Disappeared
On November 13th, 2024, the University of Bath welcomed leading experts and family members who have been affected by the violence of disappearance during “The Troubles” in Northern Ireland for a collection of talks.
These were delivered by Sandra Peake, Chief Executive Officer of the Wave Trauma Centre in Belfast; along with an emotive testimony from Dympna Kerr, the brother of Columba McVeigh, who was one of 17 murder victims known in the regions simply as “The Disappeared”. Columba was 19-years-old when he vanished in 1975 and his body has never been found.
Also in attendance was Michael McConville, the son of Jean, whose disappearance following her forced abduction from the family home at the Divis flats in West Belfast has been the most profiled and documented of all the cases in the province. Jean’s body was later found in 2003.
Michael was accompanied by Shauna Moreland, whose mother, Caroline, was abducted by the IRA in the summer of 1994. Her whereabouts were initially unknown, until her remains were found a few weeks later dumped in a remote area near Roslea, Co. Fermanagh.
Sandra, a tireless campaigner for peace in the region and a lead advocate in addressing the trauma many in the communities faced during the troubles, spoke at length about the history of the tactic of enforced disappearances. She shared her experiences of the trauma it induces in family members who are forced to live with disappearance, which includes ongoing forms of dehumanisation and stigmatisation.
In turn, Dympna spoke of the reality of the suffering, and what it means to never find the body of a loved one and yet still the need to maintain a certain hope.
The event, which took place earlier this month, was hosted in the newly curated campus art space in The Chancellors’ Building, which features Chantal Meza’s State of Disappearance collection.
Commenting on the event, Professor Brad Evans who is the Director of the Centre for the Study of Violence noted:
'It was an extraordinary honour and privilege to have Sandra, Dympna, Michael and Shauna join us as we continue to try and find ethically considered ways to speak about a form of violence that is so often marked by silence. This was exactly the kind of event I also had in mind when we conceived of installing the state of disappearance exhibition, which shows how we can bring academic communities together with artists, policy makers and those deeply affected by the trauma of violence".