Digital Image Cultures of Conflict
Research Fellowship with Tandem Research and Quicksand Design Studio, 2020
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
This project explored civic participation and engagement through visually documenting and reporting humanitarian conflict and crisis. It focuses on the manner in which user-generated visuals make a conflict visible. Considering the 2020 Delhi Violence as a case study, the resulting report highlights the emerging visual themes of conflict that contribute to the online narrative. Further, it identifies the motivations for creating and sharing the visuals on social media platforms.
Types of images and videos identified from the sample of study.
Aside from the report, the project also involved imagining new forms of public engagement and awareness regarding digital tools of civic participation. Two prototypes were developed as media literacy tools for activists, civic organizations and civil society. These prototypes allow users to interact as a 'bystander of conflict'. The story thus develops according to one's own motivations and reactions during a violent conflict. It also sheds light on the ethical and social consequences of image creation and sharing during a crisis.
‘Caught on Camera’ is an interactive story that is dependent on a citizen’s motivation to report a conflict that they witness. It simulates a scenario of mob-lynching, in which users choose between two types of citizen bystanders – one that belongs to the mob’s community and one that doesn’t.
This project is an initial exploration of civic participation and engagement through digital technologies of visually documenting and reporting humanitarian conflict. By shedding light on the current visual forms, impact and violent image cultures in India, the insights intend to contribute to the conversation around civic engagement and activism through visual media technologies.
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The Greenhouse Art-Technology-Society residency is jointly offered by Tandem Research and Quicksand Design Studio, who share studio space at the Greenhouse in Aldona, North Goa.