Exhibit A-i: An Impactful Insight into Offshore Detention Camps Created by Howatson+Company with Maurice Blackburn

 

Gavin> We’re hoping Exhibit A-i impacts difference audiences in different ways:

 

For Members of Parliament, the book of evidence is being used as a tool to have 1:1 conversations with policy-makers. Its aim is to highlight the atrocities that occur in offshore detention and showcase the humanity of the survivors. This is particularly relevant as many politicians don’t know the details of what happens in offshore detention – the program was implemented by a former Government and the centres are run by private companies. By seeing the atrocities that occur and reading survivors’ stories, politicians can be urged to shut down the centres once and for all. Maurice Blackburn representatives have already started these conversations with members of the Australian Labor Government, including The Minister for Immigration. 

 

For journalists, who were sent the book, the ask is that they share the images and stories, so the world can bear witness to the injustices that occur in offshore detention. We also know large scale media reporting is an important factor in adding pressure on the Government, so we targeted news outlets that politicians would read. We made the front page news of The Guardian as well as more right leaning media outlets like Newscorp’s News.com.au and The Telegraph (articles in hyperlinks). The more the media reports on the horrors of offshore detention, the greater the impact can be.

 

For the public, the aim is to change public perception of refugees and have as many people as possible engage with the humanity of their experiences. A humanity which is often lost in media reporting. 

 

Finally, the main group of people we want to help are the survivors themselves. It was their wish that their stories be shared and their experiences become part of the public record. We hope that this campaign can begin a process of healing for them. And importantly, ensure that similar stories don’t happen again.

 

Gavin> The most difficult challenge wasn’t something to overcome, but rather something to work through with empathy and care: workshopping the images with survivors. To make sure the images were as accurate as possible, participants weren’t just asked to re-live their stories but to work with AI technicians to visualise them in great detail – from expressions on guard’s faces to the colour of tents to moments of extreme violence. It was a sad, painful and powerful experience. To navigate this sensitively, a Maurice Blackburn Lawyer was always by their side – who after years of support had built up a close rapport. Participants were also briefed thoroughly before the workshops and given regular breaks throughout. They also had a highly trained support team standing by who were experts in dealing with trauma.

 

Another challenge was launching the campaign in a way that would lead to actual political change. A typical advertising campaign is launched with as much noise as possible, at a time when the client or agency decide. Yet for Exhibit A-I, we had to be guided by Maurice Blackburn’s Social Affairs team and the Labor Party itself – ensuring our campaign navigated political sensitivities, agendas, parliament sitting schedules and more. As such, we had to be flexible while back-channel discussions were had and be open to dates constantly changing.

 

Gavin> Exhibit A-i doesn’t use AI for tech’s sake, but to generate visual evidence of injustices that occurred in Australia's offshore detention facilities — places where cameras and journalists are banned. Hundreds of hours of interviews were conducted with survivors, who then worked with AI technicians to create visualisations of their experiences. Workshops were held with survivors to ensure details were as accurate as possible, from the colour of the tents to the subjects’ facial expressions. To make sure our visuals were as evocative as possible, we consulted photojournalists to ensure the images had the same composition and quality as real photography. 

 

By using AI as a tool to illustrate people’s lived experiences, Exhibit A-i was able to restore humanity to the thousands whose trauma had been hidden from view, and did justice to these individuals’ requests for their stories to be shared and understood. It also exposed the hidden horrors of Australia’s offshore detention to the public, politicians and press — receiving $2.5M+ in earned media in one week and reaching over 340 million people with over 300 pieces of coverage. 

 

Our collated images and statements have become a body of evidence that’s used as a tool in policy-change conversations with members of Australian Parliament and in 1:1 meetings with key decision-makers within the coalition government.  Exhibit A-i was presented to Australia’s Minister for Immigration, who is now evaluating the evidence. 

 

 

Gavin> Many of us live in a world of privilege and comfort. We curate the content we see and refuse to engage with any other reality than our own. This campaign has taught me that sometimes we need to be shocked. Slapped out of our cosy apathy. Brutally confronted with the realities other people experience. A bloody arm, a hanging body, a crying baby. Only then can we be moved. And only by being moved, can change occur.  

 

I’ve also learnt that evil can and does happen, even in so-called ‘welcoming’ countries like Australia. But there are courageous and inspiring people who fight it every day. Like the social justice lawyers at Maurice Blackburn. And the brave survivors who refuse to remain silent.