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SUMMARY:Invisible Matters and Dark Ecologies: Exposure\, Ethics and Art-An
 thropology in Post-Disaster Japan - Jennifer Clarke\, University of Aberde
 en
DTSTART:20141110T133000Z
DTEND:20141110T153000Z
UID:TALK55230@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Noemi Tousignant
DESCRIPTION:This is new research and is partly propositional. I am interes
 ted in thinking through modes of syncretism (Law\, 2013) to consider how m
 aterial realities intersect with other logics\, and how practices hold tog
 ether empirically and imaginatively. Radiation and contamination are invis
 ible matters not only because they are imperceptible to humans\; the disas
 ter exposed complex ties between people and the nuclear industry\, tangled
  up in corruption and obfuscation. Forms of measurement and visualisation 
 of radiation levels exist but they are often abstract. Geiger counter numb
 ers are uncertain\, and while fascinating visualisations of data prolifera
 te (often thanks to NGO and volunteer organisations) they ‘don’t seem 
 real’\, they have a geo-logic. A common response has been to ‘defer th
 e recognition of reality’. Risks are downplayed and the effects of low-l
 evel exposure has been normalised. Porous boundaries and arbitrary lines (
 whether mapping the evacuation zones or between bodies and contaminated ma
 tters) exist within a matrix of conformity\, acceptance\, ostracism and ex
 clusion. I will begin by discussing ways of negotiating exposure to radiat
 ion and contamination such as the use of talismans I encountered in Miyagi
  in May this year. I will consider ethics in terms of the responsibilities
  involved doing anthropological research here\, and anthropology as ethics
  (cf. Evens\, 2009)\, illustrating some of this by way of memorialisations
 . It is striking ‘how alive the dead are.’ Here I explore exposure and
  ethics in terms of the uncanny\, how absence is made present and the ‘g
 eographies of love’(Wylie\, 2009). Ultimately I am interested in the rol
 e of art and artists and the possibilities for art –anthropology. I will
  give examples of contemporary art\, speculative means to counter ‘mains
 tream’ narratives\, visualising invisible matters\, as well as describe 
 aspects of my proposed work\, including installations and experimental pri
 ntmaking using Japanese woodcut.
LOCATION:SG1 @ CRASSH Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambridge\, 
 CB3 9DT
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