ABSTRACT
Chapter 4 discusses the relationship between contemporary arts practice, visual evidence and the strategies employed by artists in legal interventions and investigations in contexts of forced displacement. Focused on the nexus between artmaking, evidence building, and the law, it begins by exploring the legal concept of the ‘burden of proof’, the term used in international law to describe the evidentiary standards required in the substantiation of legal claims. With attention focused on the key sites of Australia, Greece and Palestine, it reveals how art has the capacity to legally contend with state and military accounts of crimes against forcibly displaced populations. Concluding with discussion of the increasing pressures of censorship and ‘lawfare’ in museum and contemporary art contexts, this chapter makes clear the need for greater engagement with legal processes by artists and cultural workers engaged with issues pertaining to forced displacement.
