The most powerful evidence in history is visual. The right image not only exposes injustice but pressures policy-makers to put a stop to it. For over 10 years, refugees have been illegally and inhumanely detained by the Australian Government in offshore detention centres. There is no visual evidence. Camera equipment, journalists and reporters are banned. Only by making this injustice visible, can we provoke change. This is the purpose of Exhibit A-i. 

Social justice law firm, Maurice Blackburn, conducted 300 hours of interviews with refugees, documenting the atrocities they faced in offshore detention. Together with AI technicians, survivors then generated the first visual evidence of their experiences. Every detail was made as accurate as possible, from the colour of the tents to the subjects’ facial expressions. While photojournalists were consulted to guide composition and image quality. The statements and images were compiled into a book — the largest visual and written documentation of life in offshore detention to date. This was submitted to members of Australian Parliament and used in 1:1 conversations with policy-makers.

The book was sent to journalists, garnering worldwide attention. The evidence was shared with the public in OOH and exhibitions, as well as integrated into stock libraries to sit alongside real photojournalism. Exhibit A-i was presented to Australia’s Minister for Immigration, who is now evaluating the evidence. 

Results 

$4M+ in earned media 

436M+ people reached

Cultural context for Jury

In 10+ years, over 4,183 people seeking asylum have been processed through Australian offshore detention. Many are not granted permanent visas afterwards, meaning they live in fear of deportation. Nauru remains Australia’s sole offshore processing centre, after the detention centre on Manus Island was ruled unlawful and ordered to be shut down by that country’s supreme court. As of 28 February 2023, there were 1,099 people in detention facilities. This included 1,050 men and approximately 47 women. 

Australia’s leading social justice law firm, Maurice Blackburn, had been running a class action lawsuit on behalf of survivors against the government, arguing that indefinite offshore detention should be unlawful. Unfortunately, in 2021, due to a change in the law, the case was dismissed. However, Maurice Blackburn still believed survivors’ stories deserved to be heard. Their brief was to create widespread awareness of the atrocities survivors experienced to try to use these stories to provoke policy change discussions.