Anthias F, 2008, 'Thinking through the Lens of Translocational Positionality: An Intersectionality
Frame for Understanding Identity and Belonging', Translocations, vol. 4, issue. 1, pp. 5-20
In this paper, Floya Anthias reflects on present-day forms of identity within the fields of ethnicity,
migration and transnational population movements, critically analysing new forms of identity birthed
from related notions of diaspora, hybridity and cosmopolitanism (p. 6). It provides a succinct
overarching look at hybrid cultural identities emerging as a result of the prevalence of globalisation –
migration, increasing flows of people, commodities, cultures and economic and political interests (p. 6).
This paper argues for the use of the concept of ‘translocational positionality’, a term coined by Anthias,
defined as “a social position made up of different locations relating to gender, ethnicity, race and class
(amongst others), and their at times contradictory effects” (p. 15). The concept speaks to issues of
identity relating to place, which are not fixed but are “context, meaning and time related and which
therefore involve shifts and contradictions” (p. 15). Anthias’ concept offers an intersectional framing for
the understanding of belonging, moving away from the idea of given ‘groups’ or ‘categories’ of gender,
ethnicity and class. Relevant to my essay, the concept of cultural hybridity goes against a monoculturalist view of identity, asserting that cultural identity can be syncretic, or a mixture of things, and
changeable instead of fixed and boiled down or essentialised (p. 16). Notions of cultural hybridity have
been close to my practice since my second year of this program. I consider myself to have a culturally
and racially hybrid identity as I have a mixture of Chinese and Anglo-Australian ancestry. Navigating
these existing groups as ‘Other’ and trying to find a balance or sense of belonging between these two
identities is a lifelong journey, and this internal struggle to belong within set national identities pops up
regularly in my work. By reading the other texts in my bibliography on themes such as the abject, I’ve
discovered that balancing or intersecting binaries (e.g. mind and body etc. in Elizabeth Grosz’s Volatile
Bodies) are relevant to other fields of philosophical study, and hybrid identities serve as a metaphor for
other more universal issues to do with the body in art. This text has given me new terms to use in
relation to my cultural identity and sense of belonging. Anthias is professor of sociology and social
justice, and influential writer of numerous journals on ethnicity and nationalism – though highly
educated, the writing style used in this text is quite accessible, especially when compared with other
pioneering theorists in this field, e.g. Homi K Bhabha. I’d say this text was written for students,
academics, specialists and anyone interested in this field of study.
Foster H, 1996, ‘Obscene, Abject, Traumatic’ October Magazine, vol. 78, pp.107-124.
Hal Foster’s well-known essay on art and the abject questions the modern need for obscene and
traumatic art, which he proposes is due to a discontent with reality in the modern world that drives the
desire for abjection and regression, aligning abject contemporary art with ‘the general culture of
abjection’ (p. 122). Foster begins the article by stating that in contemporary art and theory there are
often shifts in conception of the real (p. 110). Foster uses Cindy Sherman’s progression of work to
portray the three main viewings Lacan’s theory of the gaze, allowing him to interrogate the obscene,
suggesting that it is an attack on representation or abjection (pp. 111-113). Foster believes abjection and
particularly abject art to be difficult to comprehend as a result of its recurrent use in the art world,
interrogating abject art and its moral intentions as well as describing the two key directions abject art
can take: either to identify or revolt with the abject. Foster implies that there is a reciprocal and harmful
relation between subject and object. The object-gaze obliterates the subject’s specificity and interiority,
rendering it animal, just flesh (p. 109). Foster references Julia Kristeva in Powers of Horror: “In a world
in which the Other has collapsed …” – Foster says contemporary art is unlike previous forms of artmaking in that it aims not to placate the violent gaze of the object but to conjure it and enjoy it as a kind
of sublime desublimation (p.111).
This text was likely written with people within the fine art realm in mind – students, professors and
professionals in the field with an interest in this subject. I chose to analyse this text because my work is
taking a very different direction this semester, into what many people have told me is ‘the abject’. I
wanted to better understand this concept as it has been so generally defined by the controversy
movements like Shock Art have created. I also thought reading more on the concept would help me
understand why I am heading in that direction aesthetically and conceptually within my practice,
because these things take me a long time to process. I am interested in the war between subject and
object and the gaze.
Grosz, E 1994, ‘Sexed Bodies” in Grosz E, Volatile bodies: toward a corporeal feminism, Allen &
Unwin, St Leonards NSW Australia
In this book, esteemed feminist theorist Elizabeth Grosz makes the argument that the sexually specific
body is socially constructed - that the binaries of mind and body are not inherently separate. Grosz
argues against the androcentric essentialism of (predominantly male) theorists before her, critiquing
these thoughts from a feminist (or in my opinion) egalitarian lens, and for a more open and diverse
approach to the body in philosophy (pp. 1-24). In the final chapter of this book, Sexed Bodies, Grosz
endeavours to bridge some of the gaps left by theory and history, seeking to “question the ontological
status of the sexed body” (p.189). Grosz does this by synthesising and lengthening the work of Mary
Douglas (anthropologist) and Julia Kristeva (philosopher and feminist), using these theorists’ concepts
of abjection, contamination, and the borderline state of fluids to investigate cultural ideas of the sexed
body, which are ostensibly internalised as self-image (pp. 192-198). Recalling some of Kristeva’s ideas
in her seminal essay Powers of Horror, Grosz summarises that “…abjection links the lived experience
of the body with the social, culturally specific meaning of the body” the favouring of “some parts and
functions.” Here, Grosz implies that sexual difference is a form of abjection (p.192).
This text was recommended to me by so many people in relation to my current body of work, which
deals with (my) body image, the Asian female body, and the marked body in art. My practice is very
chaotic presently, I’m still struggling to figure out what it is I’m trying to say, all I know is that it needs
to be said. This text is relevant to my work in many ways, I am looking at dealing with de-sexualising
the female body and exploring it in a non-sexual manner. This is an important text as it examines a
plethora of theoretical tools from previous thinkers with a broad-minded perspective and opens us up to
the idea of a corporeal feminism. This text is very dense and is suited to academics and students
interested in this field.
Newman, EL 2018, ‘Self Harm’ in Newman, EL, Female body image in contemporary art: dieting,
eating disorders, self-harm and fatness, Routledge, New York, USA
In this book, Emily L. Newman (art historian and professor specialising in contemporary art and gender
studies) concentrates on the idealisation of the female body in popular culture, breaking this down
through the examination of several problematic and prevalent issues that generally plague many (not
just females) today – obesity, anorexia, bulimia, dieting, self-harm, and female body image. The chapter
in question explores countless different ways artists have explored self-harm, and examines what their
intentions were. Newman explores the history behind depictions of self-harm in art and why some of it
is problematic, explaining that out of all of the themes explored in the entire text, self-harm is the one
that people are most likely to keep under wraps (statistics are cited), so contemporary artists who work
with the documentation of self-harm related imagery can help those suffering relate, and potentially
open up (p. 125). Newman rightly asserts that in order to legitimately address self-harm in the art world,
artists that deal with this subject matter (Chen Zhe, Laura Hospes and Kristina E Knipe) frame their
practice with context. Non-suicidal self-injuries cannot be addressed hypothetically – the viewer needs
to recognise how and why the injuries are made (p. 131).
This resource is an incredible find for the purpose of my essay, as this year my work is currently looking
at my identity through the lens of self-harm or self-destructive behaviour (I’ve come to the realisation
I've been engaging in physically self destructive behaviour since the age of 4 and it’s an integral part of
my identity). This source clearly differentiated between art that inadvertently uses self-harm and art that
deals with the issue of non-suicidal self-injury in a respectful way. It has equipped me with knowledge
on how to depict this imagery or talk about these sensitive issues without triggering people. This source
is incredibly well researched and utilises very accessible language, it would be suitable for the general
public, students, and professionals, anyone who is interested in this subject matter.