Migrant Images

Abstract

This paper is an exploration of the large corpus of vlogs and short films (produced by migrants) that carve out a moral language of citizenship in the city of Dubai. These visual materials were created by Filipinos, Pakistanis, Indians, Sri Lankans, Bangladeshis, Iranians and Nigerians; they circulate and function as visual maps that help migrants ‘see’ and negotiate the city. Speaking to categories of formal citizenship that evade them, the ‘undocumented’ and ‘illegal’ often erupt into visibility through these peripheral media texts. Set against the backdrop of formal media production in the highly organized media production zones of Dubai, this article explores what forms of aesthetic practice and cultural production emerge from the precarious conditions of migrant life. In doing so, the paper analyzes intersecting concepts of lateral agency, aesthetic forms, media labor and citizenship in the post-oil Dubai economy.