Linköping university - Department of Social and Welfare Studies (ISV) Master´s Thesis, 30 Credits – MA in Ethnic and Migration Studies (EMS) ISRN: LiU-ISV/EMS-A--18/07--SE The World is perishing, create art – Aesthetic projects of belonging in and to ‘the green and pleasant land’ and mare nostrum Asher Goldstein Supervisor: Peo Hansen 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................................................... 3 A note on the text .......................................................................................................................................................... 3 List of Figures ................................................................................................................................................................. 4 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Chapter structure and outline ....................................................................................................................................... 7 Chapter One: Theoretical grounding ........................................................................................................................... 12 Aesthetics, belonging and temporality ................................................................................................... 12 Disidentification, memory and violence ................................................................................................. 15 Hybridity and the principle artists’ biographies ...................................................................................... 17 Chapter Two: All for a green mean and pleasant land ................................................................................................ 20 Background to the album’s composition ................................................................................................ 21 Origin of ‘a green and pleasant land’ ...................................................................................................... 22 Jingoism, equal rights and social democracy .......................................................................................... 26 Racism, repression and deregulation ..................................................................................................... 29 Contemporary right-wing extremism and the mean and pleasant land ................................................ 34 Revisionism, culture and a green and pleasant land .............................................................................. 37 Chapter Three: mare nostrum ..................................................................................................................................... 41 Veneto Autonomy Referendum .............................................................................................................. 42 Origin of mare nostrum ........................................................................................................................... 43 Mare nostrum Irredenta! ........................................................................................................................ 44 Fascist mare nostrum .............................................................................................................................. 49 Contemporary mare nostrum: “waves disguised as tombstones” ......................................................... 52 Memorials in mare nostrum ................................................................................................................... 55 Countless, 2017 ................................................................................................................................... 55 Lampedusa Cross, 2009 ...................................................................................................................... 56 Venezia: Biennale vs. Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pietà......................................................................... 58 Shipwrecks in ‘mare nostrum’................................................................................................................. 60 Museo Atlantico, 2017 ........................................................................................................................ 65 Exodus, 2017 ....................................................................................................................................... 67 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................... 71 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................. 73 2 Acknowledgements I am extremely grateful for the thoughtful feedback and encouragement provided by my supervisor, Peo Hansen throughout the thesis writing process. During the thesis-writing seminar, I was fortunate to have Andrea Nold and Inna Sinersaari as discussants, who were willing to put extra effort into understanding what were then unclear and half-formed ideas. They pressed me to more clearly articulate my project and their feedback was invaluable. Hammam Skaik’s and Giulia Stradiotti’s advice on the nuances of meaning of Arabic and Italian terms, cultural contexts and histories opened the door to a depth that I would not have been able to access without them. Any credit towards organization of this thesis belongs solely to Laura Fürsich, who’s academic rigour raised the quality of this document beyond my aspirations. My family, Ann and Sadie, thank you for your support and encouragement throughout this process. My extended families and hosts, thank you to Eman, Hammam, Jasmin, Inna and Christopher. Lastly, I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to the teaching staff at REMESO and my classmates in the EMS MA Program, who have been figures of inspiration, valuable interlocutors and constructive critics in the ongoing development of my ideas. A note on the text Included in this text are thirty-three images, which hopefully will make for lighter reading. The relevant credits are included in the list of figures below. Unless otherwise indicated, all photos were taken by me. I would highly encourage any reader to browse this text in digital form, as the images are not in all cases of sufficient quality to be legible when printed. All images are the copyrighted material of the artists, news organizations or political organizations from which they were drawn. Also embedded within the text are numerous citations originating from non-English sources. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are my own. 3 List of Figures Figure 1 Englistan (Album cover), Riz MC, 2016 ......................................................................................... 21 Figure 2 Chart of Shame - 2016, Liz Gerard, British Migration Museum, 2017 .......................................... 22 Figure 3 National Front March, Southhall, 1967, Panjabis of Southhall Project ........................................ 28 Figure 4 Editorial Cartoon, Garland N., 18 November 1968, Daily Telegraph ............................................ 30 Figure 5 Gurdip Singh Chaggar Protest March, Southhall, June 1976, Panjabis of Southhall Project ........ 31 Figure 6 Poster 'Southhall Kids are Innocent', RAR, May 1979, British Migration Museum ...................... 32 Figure 7 Riot police confront miners at Orgreave, The Guardian, 11 December 2016, Photofusion/Rex . 33 Figure 8 Campaign for English Parliament Van, 19 February 2017, Daily Express ..................................... 35 Figure 9 I ain't being racist but... music video (detail), Englistan, 2016 ..................................................... 35 Figure 10 Boat Polyptych, Safet Zec, Exodus, 2017 .................................................................................... 41 Figure 11 Lampedusa Cross, Francesco Tuccio, British Museum, 2017 ..................................................... 41 Figure 12 Sunday edition of Corriere, 29 August 1915, back cover ............................................................ 47 Figure 13 Propaganda leaflet, 'Flight over Vienna', Ugo Ojetti, 9 August 1918, Burzaghi archive ............. 48 Figure 14 "D'Annunzio" music video (detail), Sköll, D’Annunzio, 2018 ...................................................... 49 Figure 15 School booklet, Partita Nazionale Fascisti, 1934 (Reprinted in Piscopo, 2006, p. 113) .............. 52 Figure 16 Al Hajj Saad Eid, Maya Ramsay, Countless, 2017 ........................................................................ 55 Figure 17 Lampedusa Cross, Francesco Tuccio, British Museum, 2015 ..................................................... 56 Figure 18 Francesco Tuccio, 1 March 2017, Lampedusa Pelagie ................................................................ 56 Figure 19 Lampedusa Cross (detail), Francesco Tuccio, British Museum, 2015 ......................................... 57 Figure 20 La Pietà, Michelangelo Buonarotti, St Peter’s Basilica, 1499 .....................................................