Existing Within and Without: A Spatial and Temporal Interrogation of Everyday Life in the Irish and Dutch Asylum System

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with how the asylum policies of EU countries affect the spatial and temporal positionings of those living within the system. I examine two case studies which take daily life within asylum centres as the base for opening up a spatial and temporal interrogation of the asylum system. These two case studies are The Asylum Archive, an ongoing collaborative documentation of life within Ireland’s Direct Provision system, and an untitled series by Haya Alsalama on waiting within a Dutch asylum centre. These works make visible the practices that both Ireland and the Netherlands employ to deter individuals from seeking asylum there. Temporal and spatial theories offer unique ways of exploring the marginality experienced by asylum seekers. This thesis draws from temporal and spatial theories on marginality coming from queer, feminist, postcolonial and marxist thought.