Belongings : Distil Immersive

Belongings is an immersive installation that shares stories of displacement, resilience and hope from six refugees who took asylum in Australia. A multi-user experience, it combines documentary storytelling with smartphone technology to create an intimate encounter. Long and large-scale waves of human displacement have robbed millions of people of their histories and identities over the last century. The refugee crisis is so pervasive and seemingly intractable that it has harmed Western perceptions of refugees themselves. In debates over border security and the distribution of tax dollars, the plight of refugees is frequently overlooked and discarded in order to protect our own prosperity and privilege. This installation aims to destabilise the 'us' versus 'them' mentality by emphasising humanity's universality through a single, common thread: our prized possessions. Life in the developed world can be consumed by material objects for many people. Inadvertently, possessions become everything to people. They collect things that represent who they are or what they care about. But what if you had to leave your home for good? What is the one thing you couldn't live without? Belongings presents the stories and journeys of six refugees living in the Greater Hunter region, each told through the personal lens of a valued possession.