Nineteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

This paper discusses the photo-entanglement concept, today, after the research is completed (2019-2023). The research questions how a creative art practice can help to find new photographic ways to re-imagine Romanian culture through disciplinary and interdisciplinary photographic methods. The problem is that through the photographic image, the representations of myths are often distorted, misrepresented, or only partially revealed. It can be argued that stories can be shared through photography, including those of Romanian wolf myths and folklore. Jung suggests that collecting stories transmitted by generations from the conscious and unconscious realities of the participants could create a common story and portray a cultural identity. Photo-entanglement is a term I have used to describe the connection between a photograph and its indexical meaning as presented by the artist’s statement and the participants’ insights. It may appear and become significant once combined with methods from visual ethnography, creative still life photography and narrative used to understand and share myths and stories. An entanglement between material object and visual culture, each influencing the other. Through visual ethnography the artist uses single-use cameras where the pictures taken could not be seen immediately on the camera’s screen. During the process of photographs being developed and printed, participants – or myself in the auto-ethnographic process – had extra time to reflect and to access memories. Finally, after a couple of days participants are ready and the developed photographs laid out on the table for accessing that deep level of sharing personal feelings, secrets or traditions.