Refugee
Patrick Willocq
I BeKoZ YoU
Patrick Willocq
Is a photographer whose work is surreal, colourful work which is performance art, photography and the use of Photoshop to create photomontages. He is a self taught photographer who seems to have had a change of career. The apparent inspiration for this change was a trip to the Congo (his birthplace) where he had a "midlife rebirth"Patrick Willocq | About | Fine Art and Commercial Photographer
Willocq has developed strong humanist principles which are evident in his work. Humanist principles usually consist of somebody having a general interest in the welfare of humanity. It is also interested in all individuals having freedom and agency. Also, that there is no monotheistic or polytheistic religious figureheads. Humans can live productive and happy life's without religion- but still be spiritual.
I Bekoz You, Act 1 | Patrick Willocq
As stated above, African tradition, storytelling and philosophy is a major part of his work. This context is rooted in indigenous tribes in the Congo.
In terms of contextualising the work, Patrick Willocq's work, there is a strong proud appreciation of African culture and its comparison to western culture. African culture is seen as utilising colour and expression of females especially. Despite Africa as being known as "the dark continent" during colonialism, we see a continent which is nothing like that.
Thomas Van Houtryre
Houtryre comes from Belgium, he works within the mediums of photography and films to illustrate the social, ethnic, racial differences which exist within humanity. His motive in his work is though the camera, we become connected. He uses his camera to document significant changes that affect humans in society. One of Van Houtryre's works is a 55 minute documentary called Far West-A Hidden History which looks at "America’s collective amnesia and reveals the hidden legacy of the Far West. At a time when the US has reinforced a wall that isolates it from Latin America, the photographer retraces another border, the one that existed before 1848, when the US military invaded and occupied the northern Mexican territories that are known today as the states of Texas, California, Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico"
A collection of black and white images which confront the American idea of where its sovereign territory begins and ends is Lines and Lineage. 
The images show native Indians and Mexicans in a black and white portrait. To the side, we see natural contours in the landscape which make us question the geographical boarders dictated by countries such as America. The images question peoples relationship to the land. According to Van Houtryve "We often forget that the boundary between Mexico and the United States was not always where it is today. It used to be 1100 kilometres farther north, following what is now the state line between Oregon and California and running east to Wyoming before zagging southeast to Louisiana. Originally home to the indigenous peoples of the region, much of this land was Spanish and then Mexican territory for centuries before becoming what we now think of as the American West"
Lines and Linage draws on identity in relation to the land. Especially if we put the present time into context. America and nationalist views are being asserted by politicians like Donald Trump who wish to encase America by a wall and feed off nationalistic sentiment to acquire votes.
Daniel Castro Garcia.
Daniel Castra Garcia is a UK based photographer. He recently won the the "Eugene Smith Memorial Fund Grant in Humanistic photography in 2017"Foreigner - Photographs by Daniel Castro Garcia | Interview by Winifred Chiocchia | LensCulture
DCG received the award for his series of images called "Foreigner "which tackled the looked at the migrant crises in Europe-his concept was how migrants try to assimilate into western life from living in Africa. The context being the power of globalisation where economic migration is inevitable.
Another collection of images called The Jungle Calais looks at the migrants who are forced to inhabit a camp in Calais France, on the way to hopefully making it to Britain. He took the images over a 5 months timeframe in 2015-16. In this time, he witnessed a community made by the migrants become destroyed and the authorities taking over the area. 30 deaths were reported in the camp known as "the jungle" in 2015.
Garcia like the other photographers in this series looks at the struggle of African people but in this case, those trying to find a home in Britain. The struggle is the journey across oceans and finding the struggle to basic human rights is documented while the authorities break their community up.
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