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Graines de paix 2014

Mural painted by children suffering from epilepsy                                         2014

"Faire autre chose avec son corps que des crises d'épilepsie"
C’est ce que propose régulièrement toute l’équipe éducative et médicale du COCEE aux enfants épileptiques dont ils s’occupent toute l’année. Cette fois c’est un projet arts plastiques qui va les amener à s’interroger sur ce que représente la paix pour eux ; parce que si l’épilepsie n’est pas une guerre, c’est tout de même un combat, le combat de ces enfants pour avoir le droit d'exister.
A l’heure où l’éducation, la culture et les pratiques artistiques ont la vie dure, ce film rappelle l’intérêt éducatif, médical et psychologique de la mise en place d’un projet artistique, notamment avec des enfants malades."

Et voilà! Some pictures about our KG with epileptic children... They are wonderful! Their canvas is so beautiful! Now, they would like exhibit it... Warmest regards.
Alexandra Zanne
 
Gezoncourt 13.7.2014

 

                                                     

                                                                                                              

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Epilepsy was well described by Dostoevsky who suffered himself from this. In his novel 'the idiot' he implies that this may be the result of staying always outside the circuit of love. The idiot would love people so much that he would be able to bring together a man and a woman who would then fall in love with one another, but never he himself could enter such a love relationship. That indescribable agony left a deep impression upon many readers of Dostoevsky's novel without ever being able to say exactly why. But this writer was able to recognize and touch upon emotions which go otherwise in society unrecognized.

 KGGY actions are based on 'collaborative learning'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Details of the mural

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Group looking at the now completed mural and mounted on a wall

 

 

 

 

 Alexandra Zanne

 

 

Photos: Alexandra Zanne

Text: Alexandra Zanne and Hatto Fischer

Imagines were uploaded July 13, 2014

Film by Alexandra Zanne of the action: http://vimeo.com/111192160

Comments:

26.11.2014

Dear Alexandra,

I just looked at this wonderful film of yours. Traces can be seen everywhere. Interesting I find how many of the children wanted to make borders, or just paint some surface with one colour. A possible yearning for one feat, one accomplishment, one touch! How the two enjoyed splashing their hands on the canvas and then the girl in a daring move made her hand print on the sweater and stomach of the boy next to her. They both laughed. And in the end the one girl would say "il est tres grande!" Indeed, grande has a double meaning. Beautiful the trees with that moon behind. Incredible the details which you picked up with your camera. As always you love to work low to the ground. So you can follow the movement of the hands and then let the camera trace slowly the flow of colours. Thanks for bringing through the film much closer to me as a viewer the world of these exceptional children. Altogether you managed a much softer film than ever before. It contains lovely touches and good angles. I like especially when you interview this young girl and let one see her hair against the sunlight flooding into the room through the window behind her. That is another juxtaposition to the canvas and what the children tell in their own words or rather ways of painting on a huge canvas.

Just wonderful.

hatto

 

The film made by Alexandra Zanne can now be seen with English sub-titles at

                             https://vimeo.com/114130300 

 

From Ravenna, Italy

Friday, 12. December 2014

 
In having viewed once more this video, I could see through the little expressions of the children while painting and participating all together, just how important this project was for this little group of children despite their own particular deficiencies and needs. It was I believe for them so powerful to get this feeling of their individual  achievements, through this little cooperation of such innocence. The shared feelings being gradually developed among the children and their educators together was surely a strong experience for these children, who greatly need to win little achievements to encourage them further towards daily participation, due to their specific health condition.
I congratulate you all for your sensitivity towards the young and the innocent children, whether coming from normal, poor or disturbed family backgrounds. All and further significant is when you are involving a group of youths with health deficiencies or from the various and much increased war zones. Great of our times, huge credit is due to all the people, who devote their time and who are involved in Guernica today, like you Hatto who has been giving extensively so much  time, together with your deep thoughts and who as I have grown to know over the last year more and more, has encouraged such international collaborations  for quite some years now. I  cannot but admire greatly what you have been doing and how you have been devoting your time too. I wish you further and continued success and ongoing inspiration with your new  and challenging projects of the next Guernica's and I  know that these issues are what really matters and can be of significance to life and living and to the young generations Giving, sharing, smiling, trying, persevering  and encouraging an emotion to follow another with another,to finalize a goal of achievements of the new generations, to follow.
 

Stefanie Moschana

Comment from Paris, France

16.12.2014

Dear Hatto and Alexandra,

Thank you for the link. It is such a touching film ! It is true that art can covey hidden feelings, which sometimes we cannot show or tell directly. I couldn't watch the film for the first time without stopping it and repeating parts of it over and over again for it triggered all my senses and moved me… Some parts left a smile on my face for few seconds, some left the expression of amazement, and others left me with thoughts and questions.

It is incredible how proud, happy, confident, and honest, the children felt while painting, or even scribbling, as the little boy said. His words were strong and meaningful; he could understand that some of the other children have a more serious situation that his, and he was defending them and giving reasons and explanations for the way they drew. WAW!

Those children were painting, laughing, playing and collaborating with one other even though they were sometimes struggling with their own selves. I believe that children understand the meaning of peace more than adults do because they just act with peace without thinking of the dimensions of the word itself. The meaning is within them; it is in their acts, laughs and innocent behavior. On the other hand, adults think of peace in all different ways and try to analyze it and find ways to accomplish it, which makes the act of accomplishment harder. Whereas with children peace is approached in a natural manner, while they are speaking with honesty, while they are reacting with pure hearts, and while they are collaborating and playing together. To me this is real peace. Now the question that asks it self is how can adults approach peace the same way children do? And I ask how, because adults tend to analyze, explain and justify things before finding the "right" answer, or reaction, which may not be "right" after all.

Indeed, battles are not found just in war. In fact, they are found in everyday life, in people with special needs, in people who suffer.. 

Each KGGY project gives me new thoughts, enlightens me more and inspires me a lot. Thank you for that great project !

As for the meeting in Berlin, hopefully I will be able to come. I started putting ideas and contacting people for a future KGGY project in Lebanon in the summer of 2015.

Valia Mhaish

She is co-ordinator of the Kids' Guernica - Guernica Youth project in Tripoli, Lebanon August 2014 when a mural called "To remember we need to forget" was created to commerate the dead who had been killed by bomb blasts of two mosques in Tripoli 2013.

 

 

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