Institutions of power exert their control over us, sometimes in very obvious and grand ways, but also often in far more insidious and covert ways. This paper looks at forms of control, specifically relating to movement of individuals and populations, that are exerted on the body, internalised by the body and subsequently expressed through the body. It seeks to offer insight into the ramifications of such strategies of control on the physical and social body, for example manufacturing of shame, the other, illegality, and the body as a thing.

With the phenomenon of the border line as a starting point, this paper approaches the human ramifications of western power structures on the body through Foucault's notion of 'governmentality', and the employment of the term, (reflecting the artistic approach to the nature of this research paper), the illegal body.

From developments in certain forms power structures and obedience throughout western history to nationalist constructions, an analysis and critique some of the normative ways of thinking about space and place in relation to the body and identity is offered. Produced in conjunction with the practical body of work of the same title (a very conscious appropriation of the title of Barabara Kruger's work 'We Have Received Orders Not To Move', which deals with power and gender), theoretical and philosophical aspects as they fed into choices of formal aspects of the making process, and vice versa, are discussed.

What is asserted is that systems and technologies of control are very effective at deeply embedding normative ideologies into the body, in essence ideologies become hardwired into the response systems of the body This is particularly concerning when we consider that once again, national security and border protection are two of the main concerns of governments.