Photo-ethnography and Political Engagement: Studying performative subversions of public space

• Main Authors: Pablo Ignacio Hermansen Ulibarri, Roberto Fernández
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de Los Andes 2020-01-01
• Series: Dearq
• Subjects: perfomative protests; visual research; public space; gay pride parade; political visibility
• Online Access: https://revistas.uniandes.edu.co/doi/ref/10.18389/dearq26.2020.11

As a result of the development of digital technologies, the production, editing and publication of photographs is fully incorporated into our daily lives. We routinely use images as language to describe, comment on, interpret, laugh with, captivate, or ironize others. However, scant attention has been paid to how these technologies have been incorporated into research methods. The word continues to be the hegemonic source of the codes and categories used to analyze and engage in discussions in the academic community. During our research on performative practices at the Santiago Gay Pride Parade, we discovered a visual phenomenon that is impossible to describe using words alone. This led us to engage methodologically to approach our field of study using design, digital media and photographs. We believe that an eminently visual phenomenon such as the performative appropriation of public spaces must be studied using a method that preserves the richness of the spectacle and allows for narrative consistency.