Geopolitics and the Event

An original exploration of the 2003 Iraq war and geopolitics more broadly through the prism of art.

• Offers a reappraisal of one of the most contentious and consequential events of the early twenty-first century
• Advances an original perspective on Britain’s role in the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq
• Maps out new ways of thinking about geopolitical events through art
• Examines the work of artists, curators and activists in light of Britain’s role as a colonial power in Iraq and the importance of oil
• Reflects on the significance, limits and dilemmas of art as a form of critical intervention
• Questions the implications of art in colonialism and modernity

List of Figures vi

Series Editor’s Preface vii

Acknowledgements viii

1 Introduction 1

2 Thinking Geopolitics Through the Event 16

3 Artworks as Evental Assemblages 35

4 Geopolitics at the Museum 57

5 Iraq Beyond Iraq 89

6 Geopolitical Aesthetics of Oil 117

7 Photomontage as Geopolitical Form 140

8 Geopolitical Bodies 163

9 Conclusions 188

References 196

Index 216

Alan Ingram is Associate Professor in the Department of Geography at University of College London where he teaches political geography. He has published widely on geopolitics, biopolitics, aesthetics and related themes.

'Geopolitics and the Event is an enthralling survey of the response to the Iraq war both by Iraqi and non-Iraqi visual artists that is brimming with insight on every page. I have no doubt this book will become an essential reference for anyone researching or thinking about the catastrophe of the Iraq War and the sanction years.' Hassan Abdulrazzak, Iraqi-British playwright

'In this timely and thought-provoking book, Alan Ingram asks us to consider how Britain's war in Iraq has been encountered, appropriated and reworked through art works, by artists and through exhibition practices. Geopolitics and the Event offers us a systematic exploration of how artistic enactments challenge the dominant logics of the Iraq war, and prompts us to rethink this significant geopolitical event.' Rachel Woodward, Professor of Human Geography, Newcastle University, UK

Geopolitics and the Event: Rethinking Britain's Iraq War Through Art offers a reappraisal of one of the most contentious and consequential events of the early twenty-first century. Drawing on analysis of dozens of art works and exhibitions and on interdisciplinary literatures and debates, the book advances an original perspective on Britain's role in the 2003 invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq and maps out new ways of thinking about geopolitics through art.

Examining the work of artists, curators and activists in light of Britain's role as a colonial power in Iraq and the importance of oil, the book highlights the diverse ways in which the war has been appropriated creatively, while reflecting on the significance, limits and dilemmas of art as a form of critical intervention.

Written at the intersections between geography, politics and aesthetics, Geopolitics and the Event challenges conventional accounts of the Iraq war and questions the complex implications of art in colonialism and modernity. ‘Geopolitics and the Event is an enthralling survey of the response to the Iraq war both by Iraqi and non-Iraqi visual artists that is brimming with insight on every page. I have no doubt this book will become an essential reference for anyone researching or thinking about the catastrophe of the Iraq War and the sanction years.’
Hassan Abdulrazzak, Iraqi-British playwright

‘In this timely and thought-provoking book, Alan Ingram asks us to consider how Britain’s war in Iraq has been encountered, appropriated and reworked through art works, by artists and through exhibition practices. Geopolitics and the Event offers us a systematic exploration of how artistic enactments challenge the dominant logics of the Iraq war, and prompts us to rethink this significant geopolitical event.’
Rachel Woodward, Professor of Human Geography, Newcastle University, UK