Arts & International Affairs: Vol. 4, No. 3, Spring 2020 | Page 37

ARTS & INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS Figure 1. Hoda Afshar, Remain (still), 2018. Two-channel digital video, colour, sound. Image courtesy and © the artist and Milani Gallery. 1 Thinking about artistic representation as a form of political representation enables a better understanding of what can be seen and said, who has the ability to see it and say it, and how it is possible to know and do politics in different ways (Garnsey 2019:18). In the case of Australia’s immigration system, this understanding is critical. Australia’s treatment of people seeking asylum and refugees is widely criticised by the international community as violating international human rights and humanitarian laws and norms (see Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women 2018). Two key policies are most often condemned: the mandatory detention of all people seeking asylum and the offshore processing of asylum seekers who arrive by boat. These policies deprive people of the right to fair and efficient asylum procedures. They also subject people to prolonged and, in some cases indefinite, detention; restrict access to social, educational, and health services; separate families; and, expose people to a range of physical and psychological abuse (see Refugee Council of Australia and Amnesty International 2018). Despite the international condemnation of Australia’s immigration policies and practices, and despite damming reports from the Australian Senate (Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee 2017) and campaigns from civil society organisations 1 An excerpt of Remain can be viewed at Hoda Afshar (2018) Remain (Accessed 1 October 2019) and additional stills can be viewed on the artist’s website at Hoda Afshar (2018) Remain (Accessed 1 October 2019). 34