THE MIGRANT IMAGE
Globalization is a condition that brings crisis to many through regime-made disasters that force an imbalance of displacement and disruption upon individuals, transforming them into migrants that no longer belong. However, the lives of all people, migrant or not, are impacted by the growing prevalence of neoliberalism and economic inequality. T. J. Demos coined the term migrant image to suggest a new way of viewing the migrant. By bringing contemporary artists’ projects together, it establishes a space that criticizes the unjust conditions forced upon the migrant and the aestheticization of images depicting their distress. The migrant image recalibrates the relationship between the aesthetic and the political image from a professional gaze that bases interpretation on judgments of taste. By urging the viewer to look beyond its borders and emphasizing a civil view that considers all aspects of its creation, it aims not to objectify the migrant but rather uplift and empower the depicted, exemplifying hope and beliefs for a better world.
