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In but not of

  • Kate Dennehy

In but not of is a publication that explores the Direct Provision system in Ireland. Direct Provision is the accommodation provided by the Irish state, to those seeking asylum while they wait for their application to be processed. This system was first established in the 1990s, when Ireland suddenly receive a large influx of people seeking asylum. The intent was that those seeking asylum would live in these accommodation centres for 6 months while their application was processe and that this process would be a temporary fix while the government established a long term solution. Yet nineteen years on from its beginnings, nothing has changed, except for the length of time it takes to process an application, which has risen to an average of 28 months.

This publication was created in response to the second ISTD brief Lost. The time wasted in Direct Provision is time that one cannot get back. Many of these people have escape unfathomable danger that have caused them to leave their entire lives behind and yet they continue to lose years of their lives completely dependent on the Irish State. The publication was awarded membership by the ISTD judges.
The main copy of the publication is entirely in black and white. Direct Provision is an extremely inconsistent system, in regard to the size, location and quality of its residence, yet it is all grouped under a singular name. I wanted to imitate the manner in which this is done by manipulating the wide variety into a uniform black and white. Furthermore I wanted to emphasize the clinical and emotionally detached nature of the system. The sole colour in the publication comes from the canary yellow coloured tip - ins, that present personal stories from current or former residents of Direct Provision. This was to exhibit that although Direct Provision is a despondent system, the people within the system are emotional beings, although they are often presented in a similar detached way. The yellow was chosen for its duality of meaning, used both to represent optimism and joy as well as anxiety and hazard, responding to the array of emotions displayed in the personal quotes and stories.
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