1In a context of globalisation and circulation of goods, ideas and people, at a time when the issue of migration is continually thrust back into the spotlight of public debate, a series of traces and marks embody these migratory dynamics and seem to reflect the societal concerns they raise within cities. These may take the form of objects—from everyday items (clothing, backpacks) to rarer items (tools, furniture)—sounds (music, language) or inscriptions (graffiti, pasted images, posters) that reveal and prompt reflection on migration.

2Many people have encountered such messages in passing as « Tourists go home, Migrants Welcome » (see Photograph 1), which appear on walls across many cities.

3The aim of this portfolio is to understand how these elements, some of which pass almost unnoticed, dress the city in a discreet language, permeate everyday perceptions and reveal, within the banality of everyday life, the idea of a world in motion. Analysing their content, the contexts in which they are produced and the ways in which they are interpreted provides insight into how members of society view migration. In this sense, traces and marks are original resources for documenting the migratory realities that shape a territory.

5Over the past two decades, European states have introduced policies to control and screen migration, particularly from the southern shores of the Mediterranean. This research space, extensively covered in the media, reveals multiple migratory patterns and experiences that intersect and intertwine, recur or emerge. It invites us to consider migration as a heterogeneous phenomenon, shaped by connections and interrelationships.

6Using an immersive approach aimed at identifying elements of the urban landscape that embody movement, observations were made in the streets, at shop stalls, and on graffitied walls. The multi-sited dimension of the research involved detecting continuities or, conversely, disruptions in the production of inscriptions across spaces and over time. The goal was to capture the connections between individuals and sites that are formed during the migration experience.

7The photographs presented in this portfolio show the diversity of perceptible elements that reveal and prompt reflection on migration. The images show how traces provide information about migratory contexts that extend beyond their immediate settings, thus giving public spaces a dense, communicative dimension imbued with multiple senses of belonging.

8Underlying this work is a reaffirmation of photography’s contribution as a tool for capturing these fluid and sometimes ephemeral elements, serving as a repository of memory that preserves a trace of the signs observed.

An Approach through Traces and Marks

9Studying the traces and marks of migration involves examining data that varies greatly in form, location and duration. Positioned at the intersection of social geography and urban anthropology, this approach draws on the work of geographers Ripoll and Veschambre (2005), who conceptualise traces and marks as the two main categories of inscription and “materialisation of presence in space” (Veschambre, 2008: 10). They encourage us to consider the trace/mark pair in terms of similarities and distinctions; traces are presented as vestiges of the past, produced unintentionally, whereas marks are the result of a deliberate act and function as the signature of an individual (or group) within a space. Consequently, despite their apparent similarity, temporal or intentional characteristics change the categorisation and meaning of these various forms of materialisation of movement.

10The study of traces and marks is above all a “spatial exercise” (Gagnol, 2013:173), requiring careful, magnified observation of spaces to capture the “details” that suggest movement. Embedded in the perceptual fabric of everyday life, these elements provide insight into ordinary relationships with migration and allow “understanding of a deeper reality that would be impossible to grasp by other means” (Ginzburg, 1980: 11).

11However, despite their abundance and relative accessibility, analysing traces and marks presents challenges, as the contexts and creators behind them are not always known. They must therefore be considered in two dimensions: temporal and perceptual. This means interpreting a past action that is read in the present, while evaluating the perceptual mode (sensory, emotional and cognitive) through which an element comes to embody a trace of something for someone.

12Thus, the meaning attributed to traces and marks may vary depending on the perspective of the observer. Combining in situ observations with collected discourse becomes essential to provide a comprehensive analysis.

13Due to their presence in public spaces, traces and marks convey the rumblings of a world in motion and reflect certain ways of thinking about migration (see Photograph 2). By adopting an indexical approach (Ginzburg, 1980) and observing the surrounding space in a minor mode (Piette, 1992), it becomes possible to get a sense of societies made up of movements, where people, spaces and times intersect.

14These intersections are illustrated in this graffiti photographed in Laayoune (see Photograph 3): the projection towards a dream city (“Paris the dream”, another time elsewhere) contrasted with a reality experienced here and now (“Boukraa the reality”, the present time in this province of Laayoune). Although analysis is limited by a lack of information (particularly on the context of and reasons for its production), reducing interpretation to a superficial reading, the following photographs support these initial observations.

15The traces and marks observed share a common characteristic: they materialise the inter-spatial and inter-temporal dimensions that shape migratory movement. They reflect the circumstances in which this movement takes place and, in doing so, bear witness to systems and/or modes of circulation and displacement.

Leaving a Trace, Marking One’s Passage: Issues of Presence

17For those able to understand it, “Boza” takes on a particular meaning. As a Senegalese man who has been living in Morocco for several years explained:

“You do it to show that you were there.
It’s pride, it’s Boza. Out of 1,000 people, 100 will succeed, so if you make it, you’re a lion!
There are words that we use, we have our codes [...]. It’s like an archive, really.” (Interview with I., April 2022, Casablanca, Morocco)

18This testimony highlights the interpretive challenges inherent in observing (and studying) traces and marks. Each individual, depending on their experience, possesses different abilities to decode these inscriptions, leading to readings of the spaces they frequent that vary in depth.

19Thus, the very function of traces and marks may differ depending on the observer: for some, they are markers or signals; for others, codes or expressions of possible anchoring (Debarbieux, 2014), in some places a mark of hostility, in others of protest.

20Traces and marks also reveal the shadow of their authors, beyond the messages they convey. They thus make it possible to outline what might be described as a “geography of presence” (Berthomière, 2022: 123), that is, a spatialised reading of ways of being in and in relation to the world.

21In the course of research, several categories of producers of traces and marks were identified, allowing observation of how a multitude of actors may publicise (Habermas, 1978) the migratory movement.

23There are therefore a multitude of traces and marks, varying in form, type and content, that manifest across urban spaces. Although it is possible to propose a typology, which contributes to their analysis, it is above all their heterogeneity that conveys information. It reflects the plurality of migratory experiences and the diversity of perceptions.

24The contexts in which these traces are produced are also varied. Sometimes it is when movement is obstructed that individuals signal their presence within cities. In these situations, it is because they are assigned or relegated to a particular place (spatially and socially) that they in turn leave their imprint on these spaces, even though leaving no traces of their passage might be a strategy for continuing their journey (for example, by avoiding detection).

26In cities, many elements arise from processes that marginalise foreign populations, such as the installation photographed here in Rabat (see Photograph 6), which allows a group of individuals to pass to the other side of a wall, where they set up a makeshift camp, creating a private or refuge space away from public view. The marks left by footprints scraping the white paint of the wall bear witness to numerous passages. The papers and other debris littering the ground also indicate a recent presence.

28Traces and marks re-embody individuals in the city by inviting reflection on the singularity of an experience or opinion (whether that of the producer, interpreter, or person evoked). They thus contrast with representations (media, political, or social) that render masses of people hyper visible, while making individualities invisible (Piantoni, 2023). They give public spaces an informative and discursive dimension by bearing witness to the multiple ways of understanding migration and by promoting interaction.

Publicising Migratory Movement

29The ways in which inscriptions can generate reactions reveal the relationships and debates that take place among different individuals caught up in the movement. Inscriptions disclose processes of identification, assertion, appropriation or contestation between members of society. They embody debates that occupy and punctuate the public sphere (Habermas, 1978): through these signs, individuals connect with one another. There is a situated dialogue, diffuse and delayed in nature, observable within and across cities (walls, architecture, street furniture, etc.).

30Thus, the processes of covering up or erasing traces and marks take on clear performative dimensions. For example, the way a poster supporting migrants' rights can be crossed out and overwritten with the word “Invaders” (see Photograph 7) reflects evident divergences of opinion.

31Some marks provoke others, such as tearing (see Photograph 5), overwriting (see Photograph 7) or erasing. Cities become the arena for these dialogues and their walls the palimpsests of these exchanges.

32Ultimately, this perceptual language highlights interrelations woven by and within movement, giving it a certain density.

33Continuities and resonances are observable through the traces and marks of migration. As shown by the numerous inscriptions (see Photographs 1, 2 and 5) expressing support or denouncing the restricted movement of migrants across the Mediterranean (see Photographs 3 and 4), the voices of the producers of these messages echo those of the people on the move, rendering their migratory experiences visible through the marks they create. The multi-sited nature of migratory movement thus takes on a material form.

34This semiotic production also affects public spaces and, more specifically, on the perceptual qualities that characterise them. Traces and marks contribute to this “backdrop against which our perceptions and sensations are actualised” (Thibaud, 2015: 13) by immersing those who perceive them in a space of hybridity and multiple belongings. Because they evoke “there”, expressed “here”, they contribute to the emergence of “creolised” atmospheres (Bossé and Wilson, 2023), which form, unform and transform over time and presence.

35These perceptual qualities give spaces a certain appeal to those who recognise a familiar atmosphere in them. Through this sense of familiarity, parts of the city (streets, squares, neighbourhoods) become resource spaces (material, cultural, symbolic) (Milliot, 2022) for many individuals. The inscriptions observed can express this sense of belonging, indicating citizenship rights (see Photograph 8) and, conversely, the marginalisation of certain populations.

36Public spaces thus become a means of revealing unique migratory situations and experiences. The indexical significance of the inscriptions is ultimately understood through analysis that combines close-up observation with broader-scale phenomena. Tensions between scales arise when these “infinitesimal data”, these “details usually considered insignificant” (Ginzburg, 1980: 8) inform a reality that can be observed at other levels of analysis.

37In conclusion, traces and marks represent a broad spectrum of perceptual data that broaden our understanding of migration by opening the way to a perceptual, situated and indexical interpretation of experiences. By inviting observation from the vantage point of individuals, they encourage attention to what might otherwise be considered the infra-ordinary (Perec, 1989) of migratory movement.