Installation by Arabella Dorman at St James’s in Piccadilly uses 700 items salvaged from Greek island of Lesbos

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A baby’s bright red bib emblazoned with the words “My 1st Christmas Ever!” Pyjama tops with sleeve ends intertwined like holding hands. A pair of jeans upside down as though their owner is falling from a height. Shoes, socks, mittens, hats. A long, winding, blue patterned scarf.

These are among 700 items of refugees’ clothing salvaged from beaches and olive groves on the Greek island of Lesbos and hung in an installation by the British war artist Arabella Dorman in the nave of St James’s church in Piccadilly, London.



Dorman has called her artwork Suspended, reflecting both the powerful and poignant display of clothing and the state of limbo experienced by hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict and misery.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Baby clothing reading ‘My first Christmas ever.’ Photograph: Graeme Robertson/The Guardian

Dorman first visited Lesbos in 2015, after earlier spending time on the frontline in Iraq and Afghanistan. “But nothing compared me for the human drama on those beaches. It was so shocking to see the level of trauma, especially among children, the innocents caught up in war,” she said.



“There were thousands of items of clothing discarded by refugees. I was struck by the concept of the empty garment, evoking the hidden presence of the person who had worn that item. These clothes reveal what is now being forgotten.”



Two years ago, the image of the body of Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy, on a beach in Turkey focused global opinion on the plight of refugees. Now, said Dorman, “there is a deepening and worsening crisis but it no longer occupies news headlines. People find it easy to turn away and forget – partly because they feel so helpless.”



Suspended aims to bring the refugee crisis back into focus, particularly around Christmas, and to raise funds for the Starfish Foundation, a charity helping refugees.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest The installation is made up of 1,400 items of clothing shipped from Lesbos. Photograph: Tim Ireland/AP

“Christmas can very easily be bankrupt of meaning,” said the Rev Lucy Winkett, the rector of St James’s. “So as a church we’re saying there’s no better time to talk about this big issue.



“Christmas is a story of a child born into danger, it’s a story of perilous journeys, fleeing persecution and violence, rootlessness. So when you see the children’s clothes, baby clothes [in the installation], the link with the Christmas story is absolutely undeniable.”



The Labour peer Alf Dubs, who arrived in Britain as a child refugee on the Kindertransport, said it was impossible not to be moved by Suspended. “Every one of these items of clothing represents a life, it’s very poignant.”



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Artist says she was thinking about this project for two years. Photograph: Tim Ireland/AP

He called on the government to honour its commitment under the Dubs amendment to provide safe passage to the UK for 480 unaccompanied minors living in refugee camps. To date, 202 children have been brought to the UK, including two from Greece this week.



“It’s critical that we hold the government to account and ensure that we don’t close the door now to children seeking sanctuary in our country,” Lord Dubs said.



“Every child that comes is a victory – it gives that child the chance of a decent life.”



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Arabella Dorman. Photograph: Antonio Olmos/The Observer

Brexit had “set the clock back”, he added. “It’s taken all the headlines and most of the energy of government ministers. The public has a short memory. So it’s really important that faith organisations have been so solid on this issue.”



Dorman said she had been “ruminating on this project for two years – it’s been a slow burn”. She shipped 1,400 items of clothing in 27 boxes from Lesbos, and then selected those she felt told the most moving stories. All had to be dry-cleaned and made fire-retardent.



“I’ve tried to convey the chaos, the explosion of people’s lives. It’s about the fragility and vulnerability of human beings,” she said.



In 2015, St James’s hosted an earlier art installation by Dorman, Flight, which featured a refugee boat salvaged from Greece and hung in the church’s nave.



“It’s not the church’s job to write immigration policy, but it is our job to speak up for people who are suffering,” said Winkett. “So I don’t mind at all being political with a small p. We’re saying the government should take the Dubs children.”

Suspended will be on display until 8 February.

