© Daniel Sander courtesy the artist. Theoretical framework & research 80 pages softcover Book.
This theoretical work of the same title, Transit Nations, forms the basis of the visual work.
The video work attempts to trace and visualize the global infrastructure of flight and forced displacement within virtual spaces. By examining protracted situations of displacement from a distance, and by drawing on multiple perspectives, their visibility and accessibility within everyday communication technologies, the project seeks to provide an insight into this humanitarian crisis that is often invisible to us in the Western Hemisphere.
The theoretical part of the project, about 80 pages, is available on individual request. The project is concerned with the emergence of protracted refugee camps, initially conceived as temporary shelters, that are transformed into permanent living spaces or proto-cities. It examines their virtual accessibility within the advancing digital environment. Special attention is given to the increasing relevance of remote sensing methods for field-based refugee assistance, as well as their significance for artistic and investigative practices related to this issue. Modern conflicts and crises are increasingly documented and accessible within the digital infrastructure, such as war-related destruction captured on cell phones or observable in street view imagery and via satellites. Crises and humanitarian disasters, including those in transit countries, can be investigated through publicly available data and remote sensing methods, providing a framework for NGO work as well as contemporary artistic, photographic, and forensic approaches.