Some while ago Amnesty International invited people to chose what items they would take with them if they had to flee their home in five minutes, probably never to return. It was a striking idea that reflected the experiences of many of the people Amnesty campaigns for.

Now a photography exhibition at the HOST gallery has taken this ‘what would you save idea’ and given it a happier twist by asking people to chose objects which are important to them and/or make their lives better. Katie Ghose, Director of the British Institute of Human Rights, who helped to organise the exhibition alongside photographer Nadia Bettega, says the aim was create a collection of images that show how knowledge of human rights can help improve people’s lives.

Working alongside people whose hopes and fears and ambitions are often overlooked – or perhaps simply assumed not to exist – Nadia has come up with a series of portraits that sparkle with individuality yet speak to shared ideas of what it means to be human. Each picture has a short biography and an explanation of just why that person chose the object they are pictured with.

In a gallery full of compelling stories and personalities the decision of Vicky Allen who has learning difficulties to chose the entire contents of her handbag as being of immense importance to her will speak to many women. With the clarity of a forensic pathologist Vicky goes through her bag and gives each item not just a purpose but a whole philosophy – lip gloss for looking good, mobile for safety and staying in contact with family and friends, picture of her nan who helped make the woman she is, purse and money for independence. I left the gallery with a vision of Vicky on her way to work, pounding the pavement, gold hoop earrings swinging, everything that defines her life tucked into the pink bag under her arm.

Perhaps because many of the people in these photos have experienced illness and disability or have lost their homes as a result of war or oppression they nearly all share Vicky’s admirable clarity as to exactly what matters to them. From the stories they tell and the objects they choose what is really important to us restless, babbling humans becomes apparent – the desires to move, communicate and create. Thomas Barker, pictured with the taxi pass that allows him to get out and meet friends, holds this vital scrap of laminated card in both hands, placing it in front of his mouth as though it speaks for him. The urge that drives us to make things, whether it’s music or cakes or multi-storey buildings, is neatly summed up by Fiona Stevenson, pictured with a bracelet she designed. She says: “It shows I am listened to when I choose how to make my jewellery.”

Prize for the most unusual object chose has to go to Kim Parkinson (pictured above). She hit on a “stratifying Dove tree seed” because “like the deeply dormant issues surmounting to human rights the Dove tree seeds require stratification in a cold place to trigger germination”.

As some of the greatest thoughts on human rights have come from those who’ve been locked up in some very cold places, deprived of the right to move, create or communicate, Kim’s Dove tree seed really is this exhibition’s message in a bottle.

Changing the Face of Human Rights is on at the HOST Gallery, 1 Honduras Street, London EC1Y 0TH until 14th April 2010. To learn more visit www.participatoryportraists.org

Picture of Kim Parkinson © Nadia Bettega