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Visualising Balance, Balancing Visualities: Race, Epistemology and Equality in Visual Culture

el-Taki, Sarah LU (2018) KOVM12 20181
Division of Art History and Visual Studies
Abstract
This thesis is based on my interpretation of three particular visual examples that were created in relation to the racial tensions that were occurring at the time of their production. My visual examples are (1) the 2016 campaign advert commissioned by Operation Black vote (2) The music video I’m not Racist by the American rapper Joyner Lucas relaesed in 2017 (3) Sir Davey’s Proclamation Board to the Aborigines 1816 which circulated around 1850-1888.
These images were created with the intention of addressing racial tensions, they can be labelled as didactic images, as they offer the viewer a means of taking responsibility and action regarding the respective event or tension. Using the proclamation board as a historic example I analyse the... (More)
This thesis is based on my interpretation of three particular visual examples that were created in relation to the racial tensions that were occurring at the time of their production. My visual examples are (1) the 2016 campaign advert commissioned by Operation Black vote (2) The music video I’m not Racist by the American rapper Joyner Lucas relaesed in 2017 (3) Sir Davey’s Proclamation Board to the Aborigines 1816 which circulated around 1850-1888.
These images were created with the intention of addressing racial tensions, they can be labelled as didactic images, as they offer the viewer a means of taking responsibility and action regarding the respective event or tension. Using the proclamation board as a historic example I analyse the symbols in all three images and question how a visuality addressing racism uses the same narratives as a colonial image. I question how these symbols work to keep definitions and understanding of race and racism within narrow margins that are defined by a whiteness that is believed to be objective. Using Black Feminist Thought as a methodology I also question how can we create a visuality that attempts to represent racism without the epistemology or ontology of a racialised person? How does this reproduce
historical representation of racial tensions? How does this visuality work to centre or de-centre the position of a white subjectivity? How does epistemology work for or against the creation of this visuality? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
el-Taki, Sarah LU
supervisor
organization
course
KOVM12 20181
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
visual culture, race, racism, epistemology, ontology, visuality, postcolonialism, equality, justice, Operation Black Vote, Critical race studies, Black studies
language
English
id
8946619
date added to LUP
2018-06-11 15:54:28
date last changed
2018-06-11 15:54:28
@misc{8946619,
  abstract     = {{This thesis is based on my interpretation of three particular visual examples that were created in relation to the racial tensions that were occurring at the time of their production. My visual examples are (1) the 2016 campaign advert commissioned by Operation Black vote (2) The music video I’m not Racist by the American rapper Joyner Lucas relaesed in 2017 (3) Sir Davey’s Proclamation Board to the Aborigines 1816 which circulated around 1850-1888.
These images were created with the intention of addressing racial tensions, they can be labelled as didactic images, as they offer the viewer a means of taking responsibility and action regarding the respective event or tension. Using the proclamation board as a historic example I analyse the symbols in all three images and question how a visuality addressing racism uses the same narratives as a colonial image. I question how these symbols work to keep definitions and understanding of race and racism within narrow margins that are defined by a whiteness that is believed to be objective. Using Black Feminist Thought as a methodology I also question how can we create a visuality that attempts to represent racism without the epistemology or ontology of a racialised person? How does this reproduce
historical representation of racial tensions? How does this visuality work to centre or de-centre the position of a white subjectivity? How does epistemology work for or against the creation of this visuality?}},
  author       = {{el-Taki, Sarah}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Visualising Balance, Balancing Visualities: Race, Epistemology and Equality in Visual Culture}},
  year         = {{2018}},
}