THE ‘JUNGLE’ OF CALAIS
Two early papers reflecting on The Dzjangal (‘Jungle’) of Calais.
Abstract
The ongoing critical European border regimes are leading to the emergence of new official/unofficial refugee and migrant camps, which I understand, are an important aspect of the (post)colonial era. Of particular interest to this paper is reflecting upon past actions and motivations in my first experience in one of the biggest informal camps in Europe, ‘The Jungle’ in Calais, France. For this purpose, I question my artistic and pseudo ethnographic methodologies. Such as artistic intervention with an art action, participatory observation, and informal interviews, reflecting on how to research these ‘peripheral’ places. I will deal with my own experience in The Jungle with ethnographic and artistic considerations and consider theories such as; the art of resistance and (post)colonial practices, which have helped guide my ongoing thoughts on ‘monumentally’. I see The Jungle as a possible visual manifestation of ongoing problematics of the ‘autonomy of migration’ in a contemporary Western context. The particular interest of this text is the reflection on/of different theoretical, ethnographic, and artistic materials from the research during my first encounter in The Jungle. The major focus is between 2015 and 2016 when the urban and social development of the area took place (and when my initial fieldwork took place). This text engages on layers of memory with aspects of personal experience and anthropological theory.
keywords: Migration, art of resistance, (post)colonial practices, artistic practices, ethnography
ES ︎ Garland, M. (2021). The Jungle de Calais: Entre liminalidad, espacio fronterizo y lugar de posibilidades. En post(s), volumen 7 (pp. 68-97). Quito: USFQ PRESS.
Resumen (EN below)
El presente ensayo se basa exclusivamente en la investigación artística y seu-doetnográfica realizada en el campamento de migrantes The Jungle,durante el año 2016 en la ciudad de Calais, Francia, ubicado en el borde marítimo con Inglaterra. Desde mi experiencia in situ, descrita a través de metodologías artís-ticas y escrituras poéticas, abarco el concepto de la liminalidad desde una pers-pectiva fronteriza. Paso por acciones y actitudes poscoloniales dentro del marco conceptual de la liminalidad y sus características transformativas, destructivas, constructivas y de In-betweenness que este proceso ritualístico conlleva. Desde mi perspectiva como artista y futura antropóloga, me interesa resaltar narrati-vas locales fronterizas que necesitan estar presentes en nuestra reflexión para un futuro más solidario, colaborativo y comunitario, decolonizando nuestra manera de percibir lugares ‘periféricos’ y espacios fronterizos contemporáneos e incorporarlos como agentes activos en el desarrollo de la ciudad.
Palabras clave: liminalidad, The Jungle, poscolonial, decolonial, metodologías artísticas, poesía etnográfica
Abstract
This essay is based exclusively on artistic and pseudo ethnographic research of The Jungle migrant camp in 2016 in the city of Calais/France at the maritime border with England. Through my experience in situ, described through artistic methodologies and poetic writings, I embraced the concept of liminality from a border perspective, going through postcolonial actions and attitudes within the conceptual liminality framework and its transformative, destructive, cons-tructive and In-betweenness characteristics that this ritualistic process entails. From my perspective as an artist and future anthropologist, I am interested in highlighting local frontier narratives that need to be present in our reflection for a more supportive, collaborative and communitarian future, decolonizing our way of perceiving “peripheral” places and contemporary borderland, incor-porating them as active agents in the city’ s development.
keywords: liminality, The Jungle, postcolonial, decolonial, artistic methodologies, ethno-graphic poetry
Resumen (EN below)
El presente ensayo se basa exclusivamente en la investigación artística y seu-doetnográfica realizada en el campamento de migrantes The Jungle,durante el año 2016 en la ciudad de Calais, Francia, ubicado en el borde marítimo con Inglaterra. Desde mi experiencia in situ, descrita a través de metodologías artís-ticas y escrituras poéticas, abarco el concepto de la liminalidad desde una pers-pectiva fronteriza. Paso por acciones y actitudes poscoloniales dentro del marco conceptual de la liminalidad y sus características transformativas, destructivas, constructivas y de In-betweenness que este proceso ritualístico conlleva. Desde mi perspectiva como artista y futura antropóloga, me interesa resaltar narrati-vas locales fronterizas que necesitan estar presentes en nuestra reflexión para un futuro más solidario, colaborativo y comunitario, decolonizando nuestra manera de percibir lugares ‘periféricos’ y espacios fronterizos contemporáneos e incorporarlos como agentes activos en el desarrollo de la ciudad.
Palabras clave: liminalidad, The Jungle, poscolonial, decolonial, metodologías artísticas, poesía etnográfica
Abstract
This essay is based exclusively on artistic and pseudo ethnographic research of The Jungle migrant camp in 2016 in the city of Calais/France at the maritime border with England. Through my experience in situ, described through artistic methodologies and poetic writings, I embraced the concept of liminality from a border perspective, going through postcolonial actions and attitudes within the conceptual liminality framework and its transformative, destructive, cons-tructive and In-betweenness characteristics that this ritualistic process entails. From my perspective as an artist and future anthropologist, I am interested in highlighting local frontier narratives that need to be present in our reflection for a more supportive, collaborative and communitarian future, decolonizing our way of perceiving “peripheral” places and contemporary borderland, incor-porating them as active agents in the city’ s development.
keywords: liminality, The Jungle, postcolonial, decolonial, artistic methodologies, ethno-graphic poetry