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Capsular

Herman Asselberghs

video, 16:9, color, stereo, English spoken, BE, 2006, 23’

The Spanish enclave Ciudad Autonoma de Ceuta stands midway between a city and an autonomous community with a Parliament and president of its own. Formerly an administrative part of the Spanish province of Cadiz, Ceuta, situated along the coast of Morocco, is now fully part of the European Union. This vanguard of European neo-liberal and xenophobic refugee policy acts as a contemporary version of the ‘Iron Curtain’. As a tangible construction this ‘Wall’ between Europe and Africa is a precarious example of an extensive deportation annex security industry. As a symbolical line of fracture between North and South, between ‘inside’ and ‘outside’, this enclave represents both the harsh reality of Africans looking for a brighter existence and the fantasy of Europeans beset and menaced by barbarism. With its ‘remote control’-policy Europe literally moves out its asylum problem: not only does it outsource the management of its borders to third parties, the Africans are also forced to participate in the fight against illegal immigration. The presence of asylum places bordering or even downright on African territory pushes the extent of the European borders far beyond their actual coordinates, turning the local authorities into watchdogs and hiding the migrant population from the view of the Western citizen. Capsular is a reflection on the relevance and irrelevance of images, on ‘the camp’ as a symbol, a symptom. In the footsteps of his previous video work Asselberghs goes on another quest for an approach which plays on mainstream media, commenting on them and countering them.

Image Fabio Wuytack
Editing Bram Van Paesschen
Sound design Boris Debackere
Voice Vincent Eaton
With the support of Bruegel Revisited

Capsular has been on display at the following locations:

Festival Les Ecrans Documentaires Arcueil, (FR) Saturday, Nov 7 2015 Displaced Luckenwalde, (DE) Sunday, Jun 28 2015 Médiathèque - Fonds d’art contemporain de la Ville de Genève, (CH) Mar 19–May 2 2015 Le Quartier Quimper, (FR) Oct 4–Dec 1 2013 Centre d'Art Contemporain Geneva, (CH) Jun 5–Jul 21 2013 Art Brussels - ING Brussel, (BE) Apr 19–Apr 22 2012 Videoex Festival Zürich, (CH) Saturday, May 28 2011 Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture Baltimore, (US) Tuesday, Apr 19 2011 Argos Brussels, (BE) Wednesday, Nov 17 2010 Argos Brussels, (BE) Thursday, Nov 4 2010 CPH:DOX Copenhagen, (DK) Friday, Nov 6 2009 Spitalska Kapela, Center for Contemporary Art Celje Celje, (SI) Wednesday, Sep 2 2009 Le Cercle des Voyageurs Brussels, (BE) Saturday, Feb 14 2009 Maison de l’Europe Paris, (FR) Saturday, Dec 13 2008 Eurocollege Tartu, (EE) Nov 26–Nov 28 2008 Marias Kino Bad Endorf, (DE) Nov 26–Nov 28 2008 Autitorio Centro Estudios Ciudad de La Luz, (ES) Sunday, Nov 16 2008 Autitorio Centro Estudios Ciudad de La Luz, (ES) Nov 11–Nov 14 2008 Ash in Arts Athens, (GR) Tuesday, Nov 11 2008 Maison de la Photographie Robert Doisneau Gentilly, (FR) Thursday, Oct 16 2008 Haus der Kulturen der Welt Berlin, (DE) Saturday, Jul 5 2008 Argos Brussels, (BE) Apr 12–Jun 21 2008 deBuren Brussels, (BE) Feb 19–Mar 21 2008 Les Ecrans Documentaires Arcueil, (FR) Friday, Nov 23 2007 Argos Brussel, (BE) Nov 22–Nov 30 2007 Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival Kassel, (DE) Thursday, Nov 15 2007 Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam, (NL) Friday, Oct 12 2007 Argos Brussels, (BE) Oct 2–Oct 6 2007 Courtisane Ghent, (BE) May 3–May 6 2007 EMAF Osnabrück, (DE) Sunday, Apr 29 2007 M HKA Antwerpen, (BE) Apr 26–May 26 2007 IFFR Rotterdam, (NL) Jan 26–Jan 28 2007 Plantentuin Meise, (BE) Oct 14–Oct 22 2006 Extra City Antwerpen, (BE) Jun 8–Jun 11 2006