Marchandage Politique
Marchandage politique can be loosely translated to political bargaining. This tactic is often employed to distract the body politic from humanitarian, mineral or economical crisis by offering alternative spectacles as a distraction. Free trade, the Bou Craa phosphate mine, Telecom market access, self-determination rights, and EU fishery policy are some of the elements obfuscated by the marchandage politique at the core of the externalisation and hyper-technification of the European border. Border surveillance technologies are producing newer and subtler modes of 'seeing' and 'knowing' reliant in automatic identification systems, remote sensing, system of systems architectures, and machine learners. This automated gaze remotely controls and executes human and nonhuman bodies by performing modes of power, endorsing innovation, structuring international stewardship and the administration of human rights. A distinctive Euro-futurism is emerging, which celebrates border surveillance technology, war on the non-European bodies and the financial acceleration of the military-industrial complex. This Euro-vision conflates spectacle with boredom, evidence with anecdotes, witnessing with deception, and ground-truths with counterfeit-paradises. Marchandage politique requires strategies of unpacking that we will examine together with the ecology of practices embedded in political distraction.
The research project sets out to examine the ways in which corporations play a pivotal role in undermining international law in the occupied territory of Western Sahara.
Through an investigation into the Phosphate trade, EU fisheries deals, renewable energy parks and agricultural farms built throughout the disputed land we aim to criticise the corrupt behaviour of these corporations.
How can we highlight the political and cooperate complicity that surrounds the power of INCGO’s over Sahrawian resources through everyday acts of consumerism?
Collobration with FRAUD 2019
Design Reserach/
Dé collage/ Editorial Design
London 2019
The research project sets out to examine the ways in which corporations play a pivotal role in undermining international law in the occupied territory of Western Sahara.
Through an investigation into the Phosphate trade, EU fisheries deals, renewable energy parks and agricultural farms built throughout the disputed land we aim to criticise the corrupt behaviour of these corporations.
How can we highlight the political and cooperate complicity that surrounds the power of INCGO’s over Sahrawian resources through everyday acts of consumerism?
Collobration with FRAUD 2019
Design Reserach/
Dé collage/ Editorial Design
London 2019
