In the not too distant future having completed the genetic decoding of its population the
government of the United States of America decides to send those from elsewhere back out into
the world. This is a remarkable attempt to re-establish society as it was before the
devastating conquest of the American continent by European immigrants. Soon convoys of
Euro-Americans are migrating back to Europe even though it has been decades since they had any
contact with the cranky landmass beyond the Atlantic. Because Europe has long since cut itself
off wanting nothing more to do with the rest of the world. And then all of a sudden American
refugee boats appear off the French coast... In The Decolonization of America Steffen Zillig
creates a fictional future by collaging fragments of popular culture combining excerpts from
old and new adventure comics with washed-out photographs from the Internet. The result is a
social fantasy whose bizarre fault lines and conflicts bear an uncanny resemblance to those of
the present day. Steffen Zillig makes art. He is part of Briefing Room an artist-run space in
Brussels and he edits the underground magazine Intercity. He works in Hamburg and is a member
of a union.
