Josephine Martin

Warfare on the gaze

_{2025, Bard College Berlin}

Mixed media and collage on plastic, paper maché and acrylics on cardboard. 150×100 cm x2

The pair of panels Warfare on the gaze focuses on the duality of power, control, and agency within the migration regime. The relationship between migrants and the migration regime apparatus is exemplified through the contrast of impersonal collections of systems and data surrounding migration flows and the concrete humanity of those on the move. The connection between land, organic matter, and the human body is used to face the viewer with our perception of the migrant, and plays into our involvement with the migration regime. The contrast with bureaucratic violence, border controls, and ethno-nationalist laws further emphasises the disconnect with humanity this social and political issue operates on. Warfare on the gaze attempts to overthrow the assumed legitimacy of the migration regime and challenge its powerful actors. How can we decide on migration laws in a climate of land grabbing and within the reproductive structures of genocide and oppression?