The authors aim to map out an iconography of illegalized immigration in relation to political, ethical, and aesthetic discourses. They discuss the need to project new images as well as the dangers of giving persons without legal papers an individual face. Illegalization is produced by law, but naturalized through the everyday use of images. The production of law, on the other hand, is also driven by both mental and materialized images. A critical iconology may help us to see these mechanisms.
Francesca Falk (Dr. phil.), Historikerin, ist Lehrbeauftragte an der Universität Basel wie auch an der ETH Zürich und arbeitet an einem vom Schweizer Nationalfonds geförderten Projekt zu einer visuellen Kulturgeschichte der Demonstration.