Anticolonial Fantasies, 2015. Acrylic on cardboard. 50 x 70 cm
I reflect on the notion of territory as something that is marked by borders for its administration and regulation under the nation state, that controls who has the rights to transit and inhabit spaces and who is allowed the right to travel and explore different territories, who must engage in paperwork limbos and how this mirrors historical colonial relationships.
The statistics sheet shows the list of countries the students at the Academy of Fine Arts come from (2015) It includes the number of students from the continents of Africa and Latin America, and whether they re legally allowed to come to Austria, and the differential access that exists to roam the planet. The numbers correspond to the hierarchy of mobility and visa-free travel where nationals of ex-colonial empires hold a passport that grants them the possibility of unhindered travel. The aftermath of colonialism categorizes nationals from ex-colonies as migrants who are subject to strict migration laws, exhausting bureaucratic systems and chains of paperwork.