Subverting the narrative of the Lampedusa borderscape

Abstract

With this article I wish to challenge the concept of ‘crisis’, commonly associated with the arrival of irregularized migrants to the island of Lampedusa, by showing how this conception is usually the result of a fabrication and spectacle to which migrants become subjected, fuelling a ‘moral panic’ difficult to overcome. The understanding and representation of migrants as ‘carriers of crisis’ has inevitably undermined their dignity and rights as individuals. As a counter-narrative, this article explores a series of acts of resistance revolving around the issue of migration, where Lampedusa plays a central role, promoting the autonomy of migrants that is challenging the order of a securitized Europe. Through analyses of the grassroots documentary and theatre projects On the Bride’s Side (Angliaro et al., 2014) and Queens of Syria (Fedda, 2013), this article finally explores the possibility of perceiving art about migrant experiences as a domain of struggle, through acts that I have defined as ‘aesthetics of subversion’, where those who are normally depicted as ‘imperceptible bodies’ become ‘subjects of power’, the power of subverting the narrative around their journey, their past and their desires for the future.