The Interpreter Dis/Appears

Name: The Interpreter Dis/Appears
SKU: 18053
Availability: InStock

An artistic exploration of the political and emotional implications of translation in the context of asylum procedures in France, narrated through the lens of rarely heard testimonies: those of interpreters

5,99 € – 15,00 €

The Interpreter Dis/appears stems from an investigation conducted between 2019 and 2023 by curator, editor, and translator Virginie Bobin, focusing on both professional and volunteer interpreters and translators, as well as representatives from the state and organizations working with exiled individuals navigating asylum application procedures in France.

By redirecting attention to the voices of interpreters—rarely visible figures in this ecosystem—the project delves into the ambiguous role of translation at the intersection of those who govern and those governed by asylum law. Within such a controlled environment, can the act of translation, with all its complexities, still express fleeting gestures of solidarity or even resistance?

Through the exchanges prompted by these questions, the book seeks to reframe the prevailing public and political discourse on asylum, harnessing the embodied experiences of a small group of interpreters as an alternative lens to reveal the underlying power dynamics at play. It also probes the ethical and political potential of translation.

The Interpreter Dis/appears unfolds across a variety of theatrical, artistic, and theoretical writing, alongside insightful contributions from artists and researchers who open up different perspectives for understanding and activating these issues.

Achim Lengerer (Ed.)

In his artistic practise, Achim Lengerer deals with the political effects and functions of language and text. In addition to cinematic soundtracks, installations and publications, his forms of expression include performative lectures and events.

Lengerer founded various collaborative projects, including the freitagsküche in Frankfurt on the Main. Since 2009, Lengerer has run the mobile exhibition space and publishing house Scriptings.

2017 Participation in documenta 14 with the 21-hour radio work different time, different place, different pitch (with Dani Gal) produced by Savvy Funk and Deutschlandfunk. PhD at Goldsmiths, University of London, UK.

Virginie Bobin

After working some ten years within art centers and residency spaces, both in France and overseas, Virginie Bobin currently works independently, and often collectively, at the crossroads between curatorial and editorial practices, writing, pedagogy and translation. She is a co-founding member of the platform Qalqalah قلقلة (www.qalqalah.org) and holds a PhD in artistic research from the PhD-in-Practice at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna (2023).

Eds.: Virginie Bobin & Achim Lengerer
Design concept: Achim Lengerer
Text: Virginie Bobin
With contributions by: Alix Eynaudi, Vir Andres Hera, Mihret Kebede, franck leibovici, Serena Lee, Marianne Mispelaëre, Eliana Otta, Rester. Étranger, Olia Sosnovskaya, Myriam Suchet, TOGETHER UNTIL _ __ (what)* ?
Design: Julie Högner, Archive Appendix
Lithography: Johann Hausstätter
Translations: John Barrett & Matthew Cunningham
Copyediting: Nathalie Bourgès & Patrick Hubenthal
Design E-Book: Camila de Oliveira Coutinho/EECLECTIC
French / English
Approx. 300 pages, 6 illustrations, 1 audio (6:20 Min), epub
Autumn 2025
ISBN 978-3-947295-87-6
5,99 Euro