EVERYWHERE
NOWHERE
Biopower is"a number of phenomena that seem to be quite significant, namely, the set of mechanisms through which the basic biological features of the human species become the object of a political strategy, of a general strategy of power"
Michel Foucault (1978, p.1)
WHO IS MICHEL FOUCAULT?
Michel Foucault, a French Philosopher writing since the 1950s dedicated his career to examining the Bourgeoisie state and power dynamics derived from such structures. Foucault became fascinated with examining the past to understand how to solve issues in the modern-day in which he was writing.
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In particular, biopower, the management of life and death, and the politics which deal with such matters became a key focus for Foucault, leading to his key written works on prison systems and schemes of punishment. Foucault saw that unlike historical means of discipline, which were public displays of punishment, the modern prison system has concealed its acts behind the doors, meaning there was no resistance to such inflictions of power which Foucault argued made systems such as the prison system that withhold such powers barbaric.
It is in this same tone that Foucault encourages his readers to move away somewhat from this optimistic perspective that the way systems function now such as education, media, and punishment are better than they were before and to actually consider how power relations exist within the superstructure of society.
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Foucault sees power to be an ambiguous concept, one of complexity and intricacy and not something with a simple A exterts power over B structure. Instead, Foucault sees that power exists everywhere and emerges in many forms which reaffirm authority and the position of 'the subject'.
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One of Foucault's intentions is to understand how humans are made into subjects where a subject becomes objectified and can then be studied through these relations of power. The relationships formed are authoritative, and knowledge produced is derived from those in positions of autonomy.
A key component of power for Foucault is the relaying of information through the communication of ideas which when not disputed, become facts that then compose accepted 'regimes of truth'.
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It is Foucault's less optimistic take on biopolitics that has inspired my photography series highlighting how the regimes of truth such as 'there are simply not enough houses', or that 'homeless people are undesirables' have resulted in a society that sees ever-increasing rates of homelessness even within these developed western societies.
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