Migrations and the Shifting Borders
Posted on February 02 2023
Authors Silvia Colombo, Antonio Muratore
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Migrations and the Shifting Borders │ January 13 - February 16, 2023
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The current events that provoke mass migration, as shown by the wars or those involving millions of people driven by hunger or, as is also happening in more developed countries, driven by the search for working opportunities, well testify such a human behavior inherent in its own nature, a behavior that explicits the need and urgency of a universal recognition of a right which is still too often opposed today by a widespread cultural xenophobia.
Mobility, transition and structural collapse of barriers, these are perhaps some of the presuppositions that allow a contact, an exchange, an enrichment and an evolution of the human species.
Through testimonies, manifestation of ideas and concepts, Migrations and The Shifting Borders exhibition is an opportunity to reflect on the theme of migration and geo-political borders.
Mobility, transition and structural collapse of barriers, these are perhaps some of the presuppositions that allow a contact, an exchange, an enrichment and an evolution of the human species.
Through testimonies, manifestation of ideas and concepts, Migrations and The Shifting Borders exhibition is an opportunity to reflect on the theme of migration and geo-political borders.
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Katie McTiernan, Shelter, 2022
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Border comes from the Old French word “bordeure” meaning an edge or a seam.
Thinking about a border exclusively as a univocal ‘concept’ - the line separating different territories - is not enough. It is in fact a variable convention whose meaning varies according to the context it is considered. Sometimes, it can be invisible, some others it becomes a wall, a police check - or, in general, an obstacle to be crossed or overstepped. It is a secular matter that, still today, has not lost its sheen. Instead, it is an issue that - especially during the last few decades - is still relevant. And if the ancient empires aimed at the expansion of their borders - since the geographic magnitude was(is?) equivalent to the economic and political power - the territories confined within those borders have always been at the centre of wars and peace treaties, discussions and reconciliations, processes of colonisation and decolonisation, fracture or reconstruction. On the one hand, expanding the boundaries implies a (potential) increase of the political power as well as internal resources; on the other, it involves the absorption of different cultures and identities. Moreover, the opening (or closure) of borders towards an existing migratory flow, implicates huge consequences that are not only political, diplomatic and economic, but also social and humanitarian. It is exactly within those opposite poles that “Migrations and the Shifting Borders” moves, being a visual exhibition focused on those topics.
Thinking about a border exclusively as a univocal ‘concept’ - the line separating different territories - is not enough. It is in fact a variable convention whose meaning varies according to the context it is considered. Sometimes, it can be invisible, some others it becomes a wall, a police check - or, in general, an obstacle to be crossed or overstepped. It is a secular matter that, still today, has not lost its sheen. Instead, it is an issue that - especially during the last few decades - is still relevant. And if the ancient empires aimed at the expansion of their borders - since the geographic magnitude was(is?) equivalent to the economic and political power - the territories confined within those borders have always been at the centre of wars and peace treaties, discussions and reconciliations, processes of colonisation and decolonisation, fracture or reconstruction. On the one hand, expanding the boundaries implies a (potential) increase of the political power as well as internal resources; on the other, it involves the absorption of different cultures and identities. Moreover, the opening (or closure) of borders towards an existing migratory flow, implicates huge consequences that are not only political, diplomatic and economic, but also social and humanitarian. It is exactly within those opposite poles that “Migrations and the Shifting Borders” moves, being a visual exhibition focused on those topics.
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Zeljko Jerneic, No Home No Hope, 1993
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Considering the great relevance of the theme it revolves around, this group exhibition open at Spazio Millepiani in Rome until the 16th February is not only a visual gallery for some visitors. It is also a cultural event capable of re-sparking a discussion about a question of public interest. Moreover, it is able to raise thoughts and questions about the opportunities - or limits - that borders imply. The artworks selected and exhibited trigger questions that often cannot find the right answer. Where are those people headed? Why are they migrating? What are the feelings hidden behind their faces and expressions? Which stories are they bearing with them? More or less realistically (or metaphorically), within those pictures we are able to find current news we hear or read in the media. Behind every smile, every darkened face, every wrinkle and every shelter that is shot, we rediscover sympathy towards humanity and ourselves. In comparison with other exhibitions set in those rooms, “Migrations and the Shifting Borders” is a solid single story marked by the sensitivity towards others and by a touching descriptive gentleness. And it doesn’t matter if the stories told are current or already passed, if they show a documentary-like or more artistic approach. The exhibition comes as a sudden jolt, able to awaken us from a long numbness and capable of letting us think about our role in the world, but also about other concepts such as migration itself, and solidarity.
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Coralie Maneri, 60 Days of War: Border Ucraina - Romania, 2022
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Kamilia Iusupova and Maxim Erikaikin, Noktundo, 2022
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Francesa Volpi, Odessa Statue, 2022
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Aga Szydlik, Africa, 2016
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Grace Yoon, Girls, 2021
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Betty Zanelli, Europa Nordblatt, 2019
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Matteo Rosa, Migrant, 2007-2022
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Emma Sywyj, Man Outside Beijing Train Station, China, 2009
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MIGRATIONS AND THE SHIFTING BORDERS
January 13th - February 16th, 2023
Millepiani - Via N. Odero,13, Rome - IT
linfo@millepiani.eu
+39 06.888.17.620
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