In an exhibition that moves between Nexus Arts Gallery and the neighbouring Kerry Packer Civic Gallery, Illusion asks that we consider our moral and political responses to the humanitarian implications of conflict and displacement.

Visual artists Elyas Alavi, Avan Anwar and Sha Sarwari’s practices consider conflict, displacement, news headlines and empathy as broad international concepts, while commenting on personal, cultural and collective experiences within an Australian context.

Through a multi-disciplinary and collaborative approach, emerging South Australian curator Priya Pavri asks the artists to respond to themes ingrained in the award-nominated Virtual Reality artwork Death Tolls (2015) by Iranian artist Ali Eslami.

The work considers how we can understand conflict when the media bombard us with incomprehensible facts and figures every day, as our over-saturated brains begin to filter out situations of emotional urgency as dry data reality, while we glaze over the profound implications of human suffering.

Illusion investigates how art and artists can restore empathy and provide context to news reports where the numbers of victims are counted, but not comprehended.