by Alison Hugill // Nov. 8, 2024
This article is part of our feature topic Alien.
Donald Trump was elected President of the United States (again) this week. Throughout his campaign, he’s been threatening mass deportations, to be enacted under the ‘Alien Enemies Act of 1798.’ The act, which is more than 200 years old, specifically allows the president to detain, relocate or deport non-citizens from a country considered an enemy of the U.S. during wartime. The violent, fear-mongering rhetoric of “illegal aliens” and “criminal migrants” underpinning his run for presidency is echoed in ‘Project 2025,’ a 900-page right wing roadmap of policy initiatives, largely focused on immigration.
And this kind of anti-immigrant rhetoric is not exclusive to the US, either. In October last year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declared his government’s intention to introduce stricter border controls in an interview with Der Spiegel and to tighten its restrictions on “people with Arab roots,” concluding: “we have to deport people more often and faster.” Just yesterday, the German parliament passed a highly controversial resolution that could lead to justifications for these kinds of deportations and citizenship revocations, specifically for those who criticize Israeli state policies. The resolution targets “imported anti-semitism” from the MENA regions (and conveniently overlooks the deeply-embedded, homegrown variety) and was widely accepted across political parties, from the far-right AfD to the Greens. Nevertheless, it’s considered by many legal experts, civil society groups and prominent Jewish intellectuals to infringe on freedoms of expression and likely lead to an epidemic of self-censorship in German arts, culture and academia.
Tai Shani: ‘The World to Me Was a Secret: Caesious, Zinnober, Celadon, and Virescent,’ 2024, installation view // Photo by Thierry Bal, courtesy of the Jencks Foundation at The Cosmic House
What began as a more “extra-terrestrial” approach to this topic has taken an urgent semantic turn in light of these political events. But still, the artists featured often use the visual language of science fiction and otherworldly scenography to express their earth-bound political feelings. In her recent show at The Cosmic House in London, reviewed under this featured topic by William Kherbek, Turner Prize-winning artist Tai Shani’s colorful installations are concerned with that which lies beyond the familiar: the unassimilable, the monstrous. Here, Shani’s work draws on the various mythologies that were metabolised in Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein,’ with surreal results.
Larissa Sansour: ‘In Vitro,’ 2019, installation view at Amos Rex, Helsinki // Photo by Tuomas Uusheimo, courtesy of Amos Rex
In an interview about her current solo show at Amos Rex in Helsinki, Danish-Palestinian artist Larissa Sansour (and creative partner Søren Lind) speak about their 2019 film ‘In Vitro,’ a black-and-white, apocalyptic sci-fi that takes place in Bethlehem, in the aftermath of an ecological disaster. One of the film’s protagonists, Dunia, is the founder of a subterranean orchard, and lies on her deathbed. She will entrust the replanting and repopulation of the city to her successor, Alia, who is a clone of her deceased daughter. Dealing with themes of intergenerational trauma, epigenetics and diasporic memory, the film examines the repercussions of possessing memories that are not one’s own.
Gisèle Vienne: ‘TRAVAUX 2003–2021,’ Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris, installation view, 2021 // Photo by Martin Argyroglo
In another review for the topic, contributor Mats Antonissen will consider the current three-part presentation of work by Gisèle Vienne, at Haus am Waldsee, Georg Kolbe Museum and Sophiensaele. The carefully congregated puppets in Vienne’s work point to an existence eclipsed by social and political upheaval, and a search for community. The alienation they embody is palpable, and comes alive in her accompanying performance and film work.
As an antidote to today’s political theatrics, Brecht’s famous “Verfremdungseffekt” (defamiliarization or distancing effect, in English)—used to provoke a sense of alienation in his audiences—might be useful to consider as a counter to the over-identification (us vs. them mentality) and spurious entertainment value of politicians like Trump. With this topic, we aim to think about how the figure of the “alien”—both extra-terrestrial and extra-legal—might be repurposed as an emancipatory political tool, embraced against the logic of ethno-nationalist “Volk” politics.
