At Dalits' Feet: Archival Resources of Counteraction.

Laine, Anna

Dalits' bodies are archives of structural violence and discrimination based on caste. Through a process‐based notion of the archive, and close attention to Dalit counterforces, the current artistic–anthropological project addresses potentials for increased epistemic and social justice. This article reflects upon collaborative photographic inquiries of casteism during fieldwork within Tamil communities, analyzed through the concept "body as archive" and curated into the exhibition At Dalits' Feet. This article demonstrates how a critical and multisensorial approach, in front of the camera and in the gallery, can challenge and refigure Dalit experiences and memories of casteism archived in both collective and individual bodies.

CASTE discrimination; ARCHIVAL resources; DALITS; SOCIAL practice (Art); SOCIAL justice; FOOT

Visual Anthropology Review, 2020, Vol 36, Issue 1, p17

1058-7187

Academic Journal

10.1111/var.12198