FRAUD
Photo credit: Tim Bowditch
Phosphorous has tremendous transformative figurative potential. It holds the chemical, the geopolitical and the cosmological together. Originating in dying sun-like stars and supernovae, on Earth, it is found in the mineral form of Phosphate rock. Largely mined in Western Sahara, this finite non-manufacturable resource is central to the production of synthetic fertiliser, and therefore critical for the operation of agribusiness. The dependency to this mineral is also tightly embroiled with the (im)possibility of self-determination for the peoples of Western Sahara. As such, FRAUD also considers the “historiographical invisibility” of extractive practices undergrounding fertiliser production. As phosphate has begun choking ocean beds with the accumulation of agricultural run-off, causing the eutrophication of waterways and ocean spaces, FRAUD wish to expand their investigation into waterways and sewage discharge. As Making Time recipients, FRAUD will be dedicated to the material exploration of sewage phosphate extraction and pigment development as well as to cultivate critically reflexive art-science collaborations.
Bio
FRAUD (Audrey Samson and Francisco Gallardo) is a duo which develop modes of art-led enquiry that examine the extractive gaze of the management of raw materials. Through their practice, FRAUD cultivate critical spatial literacy and cosmology building. Somerset House Studios alumni, the duo has been awarded the State of Lower Saxony – HBK Braunschweig Fellowship (2020), the King’s College Cultural Institute Grant (2018), and has been commissioned by Contemporary Art Archipelago (2022), the Istanbul Design Biennial (2020), RADAR Loughborough (2020), and the Cockayne Foundation (2018). Audrey is a Senior Lecturer in the Art Department at Goldsmiths, University of London. Francisco is an architect who was awarded the Wellcome Trust People Awards (2016) and authored ‘Talking Dirty’ published by Arts Catalyst (2016). He is a studio tutor in architecture at Loughborough University. The duo’s work is part of the permanent collections of the European Investment Bank Institute (LU) and the Art and Nature Center - Beulas Foundation (SP). FRAUD’s current investigations can be explored through the EURO—VISION platform.