In this week's episode, Alice and Nicolas interview artist Diana Forster. Diana has created some extraordinary conflict art based around her mother's experiences of being forcibly displaced and imprisoned in labour camps in Soviet Russia during World War 2. Through Diana's work, we explore the way that visual artists can take relatively unknown war stories and create dynamic new ways of giving voice to them, disrupting traditional habits of visualising war in the process. Diana's conflict art is exquisitely beautiful, drawing viewers in with delicate shapes and charming colours, rather than repelling or horrifying us with brutal images. This got us talking about art's ability to open up conversations and to highlight humanity and resilience in narratives of displacement and struggle.
Among other questions, we asked Diana:
We hope you enjoy the episode!
For a version of our podcast with close captions, please visit https://youtu.be/Rh1iM4zpk9Y. If you would like to see the images discussed in this podcast, you can find bonus material on our project blog. To follow Diana, and find out more about her upcoming exhibitions, please have a look on her website.
For more information about individuals and their projects, access to resources and more, please have a look on the University of St Andrews Visualising War website.
Music composed by Jonathan Young
Sound mixing by Zofia Guertin