GHOSTWALKERS is a homage to all those seeking shelter on this planet today, yesterday and in the future. Photography has, since its outset, claimed to offer forensic evidence to past events.History leans heavily on these mediums and, through my work, I have been assessing to what extent.The tragedy, which is the refugee crisis across the globe, is just one history unfolding and in January 2016 I came across footage of 5,000 Syrian immigrants walking across the Slovenian-Croatian border at night. They had been filmed by Slovenian border police in a helicopter using thermal cameras. These cameras sense heat, rendering cold as black, warmth in a range of greys, and body temperature and above as white. These refugees were escorted by Croatian police from the local train station, where they had arrived, to the border with Slovenia until they reached a river separating the two countries. Some crossed a bridge – others in panic – crossed the freezing river. Men, women and children’s heads glowed like white pearls in the dark, as they made their desperate bid for freedom – an unknown destination. The Croatians had effectively rid themselves of a responsibility. The thirteen porcelain paintings were based on a series of stills I took from this footage, as I felt the porcelain and the oxides would be able to render the subtle range of black to grey tones and the luminosity of the pure white. I felt strongly the need to impregnate porcelain with such a tale, hoping it would enable this dreadful and tragic tale to resonate longer than a daily news stream.The humble, no frills layout of this piece, suggests a flow of images floating downstream, like leaves at the mercy of a powerful current. The stunning soundscape composed by James S. Taylor, is not simply a soundtrack but an integral element. Envelopping the audience, it isolates them from their familiar world, obliging them to face an unfamiliar world.CB 2016 (re-edit 2020)Installation by Charlie Bonallack // Audio installation composed by James S. Taylor