Discrowning the King: Border Performativity, Humour and Transgression : WestminsterResearch

Title	Discrowning the King: Border Performativity, Humour and Transgression
Type	Journal article
Authors	Mazzara, F.
Abstract	This article identifies forms of creative visual resistance to a prevailing logic of border enforcement around the world ̶ a logic aimed at curbing undocumented human movement, often with deadly consequences. These forms of resistance serve to underscore the porosity and triviality of borders, as well as the violence that increasingly defines their global management. This phenomenon is perpetuated through policies, rhetorical strategies, speech acts, and media narratives that together sustain a toxic discourse of exclusion. From the perspective of this article, visual forms of resistance transgress the border, exposing its violence and absurdity while reimagining it as a space for creative and alternative political strategies. The analysis engages with the concept of the carnivalesque, foregrounding its ambivalent character as a mode of transgression that can both reinforce sovereign power and, when reclaimed from below, enable forms of visual resistance that unsettle bordering practices. Following a discussion of the theoretical framework of border abolitionism and a critical reading of performative and ritualistic state power, the article undertakes an analysis of two instances of artistic digital production, that mock the state border performance. Both were prompted by the spectre of the ‘Trump Wall’ in the US-Mexico border during the 2016 election campaign.
Keywords	border
	migration
	aesthetics
	carnivalesque
	resistance
Journal	European Journal of Cultural Studies
ISSN	1367-5494
	1460-3551
Year	2025
Publisher	Sage

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