Border Ecologies and Liminal States, transborder: Future School Summer Studio

Invited contributor to the Venice Biennale (Korean Pavillion) 2020: Future School Summer Studio: Transborder. The session will present Peter Hasdell's research on the rise of border eco-systems and how the transitional nature of border crossers who occupy liminal states of being are complex adaptations and responses to the dynamics of highly complex border policies and changing exigencies.

This presentation will discuss some liminal operators such as cross-border school children, smugglers, cross border operators, divided families and communities, as well as commuters and parallel traders in reference to the HK-SZ border. Outlining how tactical ‘spatial practices’ they employ in order to navigate borders, constitute forms liminal existence often exploiting loopholes, and become integrated in the eco-system logics of the border differences on either side, affecting the urban conditions on both sides, as evident in recent HK events.

This will also reference recent work published in Border Ecologies (Birkhauser 2016) as well as earlier work on borders. Dealing with both the tangible spatial logics of one of the busiest land borders, as well as the conforming immaterial border regulatory space, and the emergence of cross border eco-systemic patterns that take full opportunity of the differences across borders in both legal and illegal ways.