Image Politics and Aesthetics of Far-Right Normalization – Aesthetic Interventions in a Racist Normality

The research project, “Aesthetic Interventions in a Racist Normality”, also known by the artistic title “DisIgnorance: Seeing through a Fog of Racism”, will launch in 2024 at the Chairs of Media and Technology Philosophy (Prof. Marina Martinez Mateo and Rime Abd Al Majeed) and Image and Spatial Politics (Art Education, Prof. Sandra Schäfer and Manuela Unverdorben) at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. This interdisciplinary research project between philosophy and art aims to analyze the aesthetics and image politics of right-wing extremism and racism. The goal is to identify and challenge artistic, aesthetic, and political strategies to address and disrupt gaps in knowledge.

The investigation centers on aesthetic strategies that normalize far-right and racist ideologies. Of particular importance are the gaps in knowledge production that accompany the normalization of such ideologies. The project focuses on making these gaps visible by exploring alternative forms of knowledge production as well as aesthetics, image, and spatial politics, particularly from migrant and post-migrant perspectives. The project also aims to counter the continuous reproduction and prioritization of far-right image politics, addressing the overload and normalization caused by the pervasive flood of such imagery. These questions and challenges will be tackled in a process-oriented manner, combining theoretical and artistic engagement. The project will culminate in an exhibition and a publication, offering a comprehensive exploration of the subject.