FRAUD

Audrey Samson (right) and Francisco Gallardo (left) stand in a doorway

(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.

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Projects

Making Time

Making Time was an initiative that responded to the climate emergency, bringing the ideas of artists and art production into conversation with new material possibilities. Read more

Project Partners

Arts Catalyst


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Events

The Politics of Preservation

Mon 12 December 2022

18:00pm - 20:00pm

Artists Wesam Al Asali, FRAUD and Nastassja Simensky come together to bring a critical framing to the concept of preservation. Embracing different methodologies and spanning diverse contexts – from the Syrian conflict, to pre and postindustrial England – their practices shed light on issues of accountability, agency, power and ownership. Read more

In Praise of the Fallows: A Guided Tour with FRAUD

Sat 10 September 2022

09:45am - 18:00pm

Join artist duo FRAUD (Audrey Samson and Francisco Gallardo) and their collaborator, farmer Stuart Rose, for a guided walk in rural Nottinghamshire, with visits to a series of historic dovecotes and the open-field farming system at Laxton. Read more

EURO–VISION Workshop

Wed 17 March 2021

17:00pm - 20:00pm

Join FRAUD for a workshop exploring the extractivist gaze of the EU’s migration policy in the Mediterranean region. Read more

EURO—VISION | Our Mother Ocean Reading Group

Wed 7 April 2021

19:00pm - 21:00pm

A reading group discussing Our Mother Ocean by Mariarosa Dalla Costa and Monica Chilese. Read more

EURO—VISION | Screening & Conversation

Wed 24 March 2021

18:00pm - 20:00pm

An evening of online screening and discussion curated by artist duo FRAUD as part of EURO–VISION, an artist led inquiry into the extractive gaze of European institutions and policies. Read more

EURO—VISION Assembly: Recommendations for Post-Extractive Futures

Wed 14 April 2021

18:00pm - 20:00pm

How might we imagine post-extractive futures? What knowledges, practices and tactics can we mobilise in order to do so? Read more

Texts

Critical Raw Materials

An introduction to FRAUD's expanded use of the term 'critical raw materials'. Read more

Publications

EURO—VISION: the booklet

Exploring EU border surveillance technologies and migrant solidarities. Read more

EURO-VISION Podcasts

A series of podcast conversations exploring European extractivism. Read more