After Empire

Where were you on the Fifteenth February Day of the Year Three of the New Time?
That Saturday, history happened.
History happened and we forgot about it…

After Empire suggests an alternative for the iconic image that collective memory has kept as the quintessential moment of recent history: the hijacked plane hitting the second tower. For artist Herman Asselberghs and philosopher Dieter Lesage, this alternative to 9/11 would be: February 15, 2003. On that day, 30 million citizens across the planet marched against the unilateral decision by the American government to start a pre-emptive war against Iraq under the auspices of “the war on terror”. It was the greatest peace demonstration since the Vietnam war and probably the biggest protest march ever to take place. The war did happen, but this world day of resistance could very well mark the beginning of an empowering history of the 21st century: 2/15 instead of 9/11.

This book is published at the occasion of Blijven Kijken / Ce qui nous regarde / Dropouts at M Museum Leuven (2013). A group show curated by Pieter Van Bogaert, including Herman Asselberghs’ 2010 video piece After Empire.