The political philosopher Brad Evans & abstract artist Chantal Meza discuss their state of disappearance project

How are we to bear witness to those who leave no trace? What role can politics, philosophy and art play when dealing with violence so extreme it takes us beyond all intelligible limits? And how might we recover something of the human in the face of its total annihilation? This collaborative talk will speak directly to the disappeared of history. Drawing upon our critical and artistic interventions from the State of Disappearance project, we will seek to explore the role witnessing, including the transgressive witnessing of art and how this allows for a rethinking of the political. In doing so, the talk will also provide further reflections on the ways disappearance demands considered ethical consideration on the role of perpetrators, victims, and witnesses, along with accounting for the multiple ways bodies can vanish from the surfaces of human belonging. ABOUT THE SPEAKERS Brad Evans is Professor of Political Violence & Aesthetics at the University of Bath, UK. Chantal Meza is an abstract artist whose work focuses on multiple political issues, including human disappearance. Moderated by Susanna Siegel, Edgar Pierce Professor of Philosophy at Harvard University. Recorded on 4/11/22

The Story of the Disappeared | Professor Brad Evans & Chantal Meza. Tuesday 17th October, Queen Square, Bath. A discussion between Professor Brad Evans, and Mexican abstract painter Chantal Meza, takes the notion of the ‘disappeared’ and engages the audience in an open conversation on what might by many be considered one of the more pernicious forms of violence. Brad Evans is a political philosopher, critical theorist, and writer who specialises in the problem of violence. He is author of over twenty books and edited volumes, including most recently Ecce Humanitas: Beholding the Pain of Humanity (Columbia University Press, 2020). Forthcoming books include State of Disappearance (with Chantal Meza, McGill Queens University Press: 2023) and How Black Was My Valley (Repeater/Penguin Random House: 2024). Chantal Meza is a self-taught abstract painter living and working in the United Kingdom. Her work has featured in exhibitions, auctions and biennials in prominent museums and galleries in Mexico, Paraguay and the United Kingdom. Recently, her solo show State of Disappearance has been supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England.

"Unseen Crowds - Deleted Spaces". Lecture delivered at Urban Violence Forum at University of Oregon, Portland, April 2022.

Hosted by Professor Brad Evans (Director of Centre for the Study of Violence, University of Bath) in the company of Chantal Meza (Artist), Dr. Richard White (artist/researcher at Bath Spa) and Dr. Peter Manning (University of Bath).

JORNADA INTERNACIONAL. FRANJAS, MUROS Y FRONTERAS: GEOESTÉTICA CONTEMPORÁNEA Auditorio, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, UNAM 25 y 26 de Octubre de 2017 Conferencia Magistral: Brad Evans

Brad Evans (University of Bath) Chantal Meza (Abstract visual artist) 30 novembre 2022

Workshop on the "State of Disappearance" held at UCC, Cork, Ireland in 2020.