Paper short abstract:

For this lab, I would like to bring examples from my own work in India and reflect on a possible and yet neglected relationship between contemporary non-linear image-making practices in visual/art/media anthropology, and a similar debate emerging in south Asia amongst artists, filmmakers and scholars.

Paper long abstract:

For this lab, I would like to contribute to discussions regarding art and anthropology at a practical and theoretical level. In particular, I would like to bring examples from my own work in India and reflect on a possible and yet neglected relationship between contemporary non-linear (or multi-linear) image-making practices in visual/art/media anthropology, and a similar debate emerging in south Asia amongst artists, filmmakers and scholars. In order to do this, I should bring to the floor issues concerning participation, collaboration and multi-modal representations as I raise them in my own practice (Battaglia 2014 forthcoming). Furthermore, I should juxtapose them with up-to-date and cutting-edge multimodal imaging practices existing in South Asia. The latter seeks to create interactive platforms of image-making in which artists, activists, researchers and filmmakers can all interact together making use of texts, images and sound (cf. pad.ma). This exploration will be in line with my current research activities conducted at the Musée du quai Branly, where I investigate possible collaboration and cross-fertilisation amongst various disciplines and art practices.