Art and Mediterranean Migration: Images of Women and Aesthetics of the Interface

Images of migration to Europe in the media since the revolutions and protests in diverse North African and Middle Eastern countries that began in 2010 have often tended to focus on “landings,” which reduce people to victims or criminals and obscure the reasons behind their journeys. Such iconic images encourage binary perceptions of “us” and “them,” “citizen,” and “migrant.” Some images are intended to trigger compassion and identification, but they only reinforce such binaries. Yet, art, I argue, can move beyond such images to embody and activate its spectators by creating what I call a “multilayered interface.” I develop this concept in relation to installation art by Bissane Al Charif and by Hela Ammar, who combine innovative uses of oral narratives and alternative modes of imaging in indoor or outdoor spaces.