Forensic Oceanography
Lorenzo Pezzani

Lorenzo Pezzani is an architect and researcher in the Centre for Research Architecture, where he currently convenes the MA studio in Forensic Architecture. His work explores the spatial politics, visual cultures and political ecologies of migration and borders. Since 2011, he has been working on Forensic Oceanography, a collaborative project that critically investigates the militarized border regime in the Mediterranean Sea and has co-founded the WatchTheMed platform. Together with several NGOs, scientists, journalists, and activist groups, he has produced maps, videos, installations and human right reports that attempt to document and challenge the ongoing death of migrants at sea.

He has held postdoctoral positions in the Department of Politics at the University of York and at the Kent Law School. His work has been used as evidence in courts of law, published across different media and academic outlets, as well as exhibited and screened internationally. “Agitated Waters: Migration, Borders and Activism in the Wake of the Mediterranean Spring” is the title of his forthcoming monograph, co-authored with Charles Heller and published by Zone Books. Current projects include: Forensic Oceanography, Hostile Environment(s).

Moderator: Nick Axel

Nick Axel is an architect, editor, educator, and curator. As Deputy Editor of e-flux Architecture, he has overseen the development of the platform since its founding in 2016 and undertaken projects in collaboration with biennials, museums, universities, and other cultural institutions around the world. Nick is also Curator of Architecture at the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center and Head of the Architectural Design department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie.