Mediterranean(ism)

The Mediterranean referred to in this thesis is one of the ‘social imaginary’, in the manner of the Italian sociologist and politician Franco Cassano (2007).¹⁶ Cassano recognizes the ‘creative and symbolic dimension of the social world through which we, as human beings, create ways of living together and of representing our collective life’ (Sultana, 2012: 22). Several scholars, including professor of Cultural and Post-Colonial studies Iain Chambers, see the Mediterranean basin an ‘in-between’ place where the global North meets the global South in the new ‘space of flows’ (2008). It is a ‘crossing’ place for Ronald Sultana, director of the Euro-Mediterranean Centre for Educational Research at the University of Malta, who describes it as ‘an assemblage of networked individuals who ask uncomfortable questions,and who, despite all our personal limitations – intellectual, physical, but above all moral – nevertheless still strive to engage with the world as it is, in order to imagine a world as it could and should be’ (2012: 22).¹⁷

This thesis recognises Chambers’ use of Gramsci’s ideas relating to the relationship between North and South. His argument about how the

‘Mediterranean experienced European modernity under the boot of colonization and how northern progress came in a direct relationship to southern impoverishment’ (Hazbun, 2008: 566), is relevant to our discussion of the cultural and political systems surrounding artistic and curatorial practice in the region, and the relationships between the North and South (both Global and European). Specifically, we can observe that the Northern Biennale model (discussed further in Chapter 2) has been adopted in the South, driven by funding initiatives to ‘develop’ targeted regions, due to this dynamic of southern impoverishment. Therefore, I propose the Mediterranean basin as a possible space for curatorial initiative and criticality, rather than an                                                                                                                

16 This thesis intentionally ignores the definition developed by Giuseppe Sergi in 1901 about ‘Mediterraneanism’ as a theory related to the Mediterranean race as the most perfect race: any reference to race-based definition is not considered valid in this research project.

 17 Chapter 3 and the Conclusion of this thesis, will address how Vessel aims to imagine a world ‘otherwise’, ie. one starting from the South, from the Mediterranean itself.

unquestioning recipient of northern help accompanied by northern models of cultural practice (this argument will be expanded further in Chapter 2).

These external views of the South, fostered by European funding, can be seen as an internal European phenomenon comparable to ‘Orientalism’, as defined by Said, in that it constitutes a geopolitical-cultural state of dependency, resulting from colonialism. Said defines the notion of Orientalism, describing the exoticisation of the ‘Other’ by those foreign to them (1977). He refers to the ‘enlargement of horizons’. This colonial phenomenon is also described by Marjorie Lister as the ‘dependency phenomenon’, in which certain regions are placed in a position of need (1997).

The concept of Mediterranean(ism)/Southernism is therefore used, in this thesis, in a similar sense, with reference to the contemporary art field.

In a similar vein to Said’s analysis of Orientalism, the Croatian critic and writer Jurica Pavicic dedicated several books, novels and essays to Mediterranean culture, and specifically to the South-Eastern Mediterranean basin. Pavicic explains how Northern European directors, writers and artists have defined an idealized and romanticized profile of the Mediterranean basin, its culture and history, from an external standpoint, and how this has been subsumed into mainstream representations of those regions, and perceptions of their culture (2012).

I am not suggesting that only an indigenous narrator can achieve authenticity in delivering the story of a place, rather that stereotypes can be easily formed when they are not the result of a sustained period of close observation and research, which is easier for an indigenous interested observer. At the same time, the identity of a region can also benefit from an outsider’s viewpoint when there is an appropriate degree of immersion in the location and understanding of its nature.

As Pavicic makes clear in his paper, there are many Mediterranean(s). He describes at least two: a Catholic-European Mediterranean and a Muslim-African/Asiatic Mediterranean. He also distinguishes two further

Mediterranean(s): a Mediterranean of ancient culture and interesting history illustrated in books and films; and a Mediterranean of problems, corruption and despair depicted every day on TV. The full richness of the present reality of the Mediterranean area remains undefined, but is still an intense and interesting present that includes issues shared by other geographies. The Mediterranean area remains a great cradle of culture, albeit one highly veiled by stereotypes and partial concepts of it.

This thesis addresses the current Mediterranean basin situation, challenging the form and format of coming to terms with this: from an internal rather than external position, using a collective rather than an individual answer. It also moves away from representation, questioning the format of large-scale exhibition and temporary events strongly supported by EU policies. I do not wish to argue that the Mediterranean basin is marginal in relation to the EU, but that the EU is operating in a way that treats particular regions of it as such¹⁸, thereby creating a state of dependency. This thesis applies these concepts to interpret areas under development¹⁹ at the centre of the current EU agenda.

The thesis follows Chambers’ ideas of a Mediterranean as modern Europe’s anti-modern other, which is a persistent image of the Mediterranean, seen as a frontier of Western civilization between African poverty and Islamist zeal (Chambers, 2008). This is particularly relevant to those regions receiving the ERDF, since declared in need of development, with the philosophical definition of the subaltern (de Sousa Santos, 2002) and a sociological understanding of the South (de Sousa Santos, 2013). This means that the Mediterranean basin and the ERDF entitled regions are, in this thesis, conceived of as southern subaltern geographies.

18 Mohamed Tozy (2013) carried out a survey about the Mediterranean Basin as both popular imaginary and as reality (the survey involved people from the EU territories, Euro-Mediterranean area as well as from EU areas of Enlargement). He choose to analyse survey data while avoiding preconceptions as well as mechanisms that artificially increase the contrast between Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. The results show an area at the risk of generating a neo-orientalism.

The concepts defined here: of cultural hegemony, normalization, the subaltern and Mediterranean(ism), will be applied in the following sections of the thesis, which will address the issues outlined in section 1.1, regarding the adoption of Northern models of cultural practice. The following section will frame the research questions with reference to these terms.