Reflection: Jeremy Deller in relation to my work.

I claim not to be a politically motivated artist, however, most of my current work involves engaging with themes of war, social injustice/inequality and social regeneration, which are highly political.  When Jeremy Deller was interviewed by the New Museum about his Iraqi project “It is What It Is” ,   “… he strenuously asserts that this isn't a political project—to which you might well ask, What could be more political than selecting which voices will represent Iraq to an information-hungry public?" Ben Davis, 09.  Deller too does not primarily seem driven by a political agenda, he instead simply attempts to “encourage conversations about our world” Deller J, 09.  In a similar way, my work does not intend to preach, rather open the doors to dialogue and engagement with difficult subjects.  I went to see Deller’s retrospective show at the Hayward Gallery and sat down with an Iraqi artist, Bassim Mehdi as part of the project.  The project attempted to create a dialogue around Iraq as a subject. Deller originally toured the exhibition across America with a number of objects including a bombed out car, an Iraqi civilian and an American Marine.