Made by artist Elahè Raofi and built by the stories of members of Refugee Roots, a free exhibition at the National Justice Museum creates a space that says, ‘all are welcome’, while tackling themes of work, identity and belonging.
When I think of the National Justice Museum, I tend to reminisce about my school trips. I immersed myself in it so much that it left little-me in a state of terror, afraid that one wrong move would lead to punishment. I think of injustices, because I personally don’t think little-me deserved that. Now that I’m older, I mustered up the courage to return but on this particular trip to the museum, I visited the free galleries, and found myself being immersed in an entirely different way.
Stepping into a room that almost feels like a cartoon mimic of a living room (save for the fabulous glass-encased antique loom), there’s a sofa, a dinner table and even a TV that plays a contemporary art style animation. There’s soft, printed furnishings, decorations and even a makeshift garden made by the artist Elahè Raofi, but on further inspection, it’s clear that each section is carefully curated to reassemble the pieces of the charity Refugee Roots members’ idea of home.
I decided to start my tour from the garden, hidden in a nook so tiny it’s easy to miss. There’s a space on the wall called ‘The Beehive’, it’s described as a metaphor for hard-working people and each hexagon is painted by the participants at Refugee Roots to create one larger ‘hive’.
The exhibition doesn’t just show you the Refugee Roots members’ experience as asylum seekers or refugees, it shows you who they are as people
My favourite part of the garden, however, was the painted flowers. The plaque to its right informed me of its meaning. During the weekly workshops Refugee Roots has at the museum, Raofi wanted to open up conversations about their rights to work. They gently broached the topic by having them each pick a flower that represented something, for example one member was once a teacher and she picked daisies to represent her past students. It was moving.
“I wanted to tell the story of an immigrant’s life in the UK,” says Raofi. “Often, you don’t know how to live in the present. For me, and for many people I know, we think a lot about the past because it’s where we came from and where part of our lives still exist. At the same time, we worry about the future with questions like, ‘What if my visa isn’t renewed?’ or ‘What if the rules change?’ Those thoughts keep you focused on the past and the future, and they take you away from the present,”
This was particularly poignant in what was called The Counting Chandelier, made of tiered hoops with dangling pieces of paper, each with a number on it. It represents how the lives of refugees and asylum seekers are formed around numbers. Some messages were sweeter than others; where one will declare their age, another will state the amount of days, months or years they spent waiting for permission to do something as simple as work.
The dinner table is the main feature, a brilliant blue mural by Raofi paints wallpaper, dinner chairs and a light fixture, and it’s where the artwork of the Refugee Roots members shines. Hand-painted plates, masks, and paper vases that adorn the table are true reflections of their heritage and welcoming attitude. Nothing says ‘home’ more than sitting around the dinner table with family and friends, and the plaque declares the members’ own sentiments about their makeshift family.
The exhibition doesn’t just show you the Refugee Roots members’ experience as asylum seekers or refugees, it shows you who they are as people. Personalities are present throughout the artwork and even more so when you arrive at the zines beneath the wall titled Who Am I which were made in collaboration with poet Chris Lanyon. The words are interchangeable and relatable; whether you are a son, daughter, student, teacher, doctor or maybe even trustworthy, creative and more.
“I hope people leave with a different perspective,” says Raofi, “despite our different backgrounds, we all share the same need for connection, community, and a place to call home.”
Project Lab - Pieces of Me: Stories from Nottingham, created in partnership with Refugee Roots and artist Elahè Raofi, is free to visit at the National Justice Museum until Sunday 20 September 2026.
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