WHY DO WE CARE: When working on a project as dedicated to representing the world through territories, nationalities, and identities as Supamodu, it’s hard to not come across the vast differences between what people’s lives and identities are, and what maps, charters, and organizations show. This is why we always try to represent unrecognized countries, show solidarity with displaced nations and reclaim the narrative from the imperial forces. But it’s not always straightforward and becomes even more fraught when a political awareness of the discontents of globalization comes into play. How to maintain a cultural dialogue with the planet while also keeping the neoliberal demons at bay? Cue artists, as perhaps only a force of imagination, can solve the split between the greedy, patriarchal relationship with the Earth and the need to call it our home. We’ve lately seen many films and art projects concerned with the issue of borders, but few got so close to the core of the problem as de Martin’s art project. And even though they are both short in their time span, Borlán’s films on the subject add a necessary dimension of reality to de Martin’s thesis and very tangibly ground their connection to the Earth and the universe.

WHY YOU NEED TO PAY ATTENTION: Do you ever feel like it’s hard to reconcile being a proud citizen of a particular country while also supporting immigration? The ideas behind Ruben Martín de Lucas’s projects are probably those that come up in every thinking person concerned with state structures and foreign policy every once in a while. Still, it’s rare to see these ideas represented in the physical realm. “Perhaps nations are not objective realities but mental constructions present in the collective imaginary,” he says when setting out to establish yet another minimal republic that will cease to exist in just a day. Borlán’s two films are brilliant, wise reflections on the absurdity of something that humanity has been fighting over, dying for and obsessing with for the last few thousand years. Brave and laborious in their execution, these two shorts are so fascinating, you might misconstrue them for mockumentaries. However, they are exercises in proving the art project’s substantial validity in that to make them Borlán had to struggle with a lot of bureaucracy and overcome numerous boundaries. Endearingly straightforward but also meta, they are perfect amalgamations of geopolitical discontent that sum up the world’s political climate.

For more content like this sign up for our weekly newsletter