Our project on disappearance started in 2017 by seeking to instigate an artistic and intellectual response to the global problem. It began by appreciating how disappearance poses a fundamental challenge for all known categories for understanding as it takes us beyond the limits of verifiable truths, the ability to represent, to political respond and also to psychologically recover.   

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While often considered in the context of Latin America during the violence of the 1970s and 80's, across the world, political regimes still continue to use forced disappearances as a weapon of war and social control. Disappearance is arguably the ultimate crime against humanity as the body is denied any right to belong to this world. Creating widespread fear that seeks to further deny all forms of justice and recovery, its lasting effects continue to devastate millions. 

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But how are we to understand this phenomenon? Why does it proves so effective? Why has insufficient attention been given to its lasting effects? What are its spatial and temporal dimensions? How do we understand its psychological implications? What does it mean when thinking about perpetrators, victims and witnesses? Moreover, what forms does disappearance take? Is the problem more than just bodies? And most importantly, how should we respond? 

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