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Beyond Our Depths:Imagining and (Un)Forgetting Education
No full textThis chapter explores issues relating to imagination and memory as they affect education in postdigital contexts. In particular, it asks how critical theory can reinvigorate how we imagine, understand, and do education. To achieve this, we draw extensively on a range of theory exploring art and its reception to draw parallels between the consumer of art and the learner in education. Central to our analysis is Walter Benjamin’s celebrated essay, ‘The Work of Art in an Age of Mechanical Reproduction’, which we explore in relation to postdigital reproducibility and postdigital aura in education. We also examine a number of images of postdigital reproduction and educational reimagination, filtered by Sontag’s polemic ‘Against Interpretation’ and Rancière’s suspicion of explanation. We then look briefly at the lingering effects of the pandemic, drawing on Haraway and Berardi, and their potential for effecting change. The urgency of the need for this kind of affective (re-)imagination of education is our recognition that ‘human understanding is beyond its depths’, regarded as imaginative possibility as much as existential threat
Mapping of local droplet size and velocity distributions in flat-fan sprays using high-speed videography
No full textA methodology based on high-speed photography has been developed to measure local droplet size and velocity distributions across the entire flow domain of a continuous, quasi-steady flat-fan water spray. The motivation is to complement phase Doppler anemometry (PDA) point measurements, which are limited to the far-field, dilute region of sprays. The nozzle was systematically shifted to capture a series of non-overlapping images of the spray, which were subsequently ’stitched’ to form composite images. To reconstruct distributions along the stiches, four grids were used, each offset vertically and/or horizontally. Image analysis was employed to quantitatively evaluate the primary breakup zone and reconstruct droplet size and velocity distributions at all locations. Results showed that droplet sizes and velocities decrease downstream, with larger droplets and higher velocities observed at the periphery, attributed to rim tearing. Droplet sizes ranged from 10 to 250 µm, with velocities between 6 and 24 m/s. The local droplet size distributions were found to follow a lognormal distribution, consistent with previous observations. The local velocity distributions within the main spray region exhibited a Gaussian profile, whereas those along the spray periphery displayed a negatively skewed distribution, varying from monomodal to bimodal. At lower flow rates, the breakup zone contracted and shifted further from the nozzle. Rim tearing became dominant, leading to increased polydispersity and velocity fluctuations along the periphery.</p
Sport as a tool for social justice:an analysis of critical pedagogy and community capacity building in Central America
No full textThis study examines the role of sport in promoting social justice within sport-for-development programmes across Central America. Recognising sport's potential as a tool for addressing social issues and fostering equality, the research explores how it can contribute to building equitable and democratic societies when integrated with educational and participatory frameworks. The primary aim is to assess how sport can be effectively used to promote social justice through critical pedagogy and community capacity building. A qualitative approach was employed, focusing on five sport-for-development initiatives in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with young participants, coaches, administrative staff, and community leaders, and analysed using thematic coding to identify key themes. The findings reveal that sport, combined with critical pedagogy, significantly enhances critical thinking, dialogue, and a sense of agency among participants. It also boosts personal development by improving self-esteem, discipline, and teamwork – skills crucial for civic engagement. Additionally, sport fosters social cohesion by uniting individuals from diverse backgrounds and promoting community resilience. However, the study identifies challenges such as inadequate facilities, lack of resources, and cultural barriers, particularly affecting women and girls, which must be addressed to maximise the impact of these programmes
Re-Use is a big deal.
No full textThis chapter focuses on the re-use of materials in the construction sector, reconsidering the wasteful practices of the recent past in the light of current supply problems triggered by climate-induced natural disasters, pandemics and war. While current regulatory and policy frameworks still hinder circular economy approaches to design and construction in the UK, there are now many impressive examples in Europe of a shift to reuse in contemporary architectural practice. In this more positive response to the climate emergency, buildings are treated as ‘material banks’ and redesigned for reuse into the future, in this way dramatically reducing their whole life ‘carbon footprints’. Architects and their associated supply chain need to become ‘urban miners’ - to re-work/ re-use previously made buildings, components, and material sources
Alt:Analog
No full textA site specific exhibition resulting from a 45-day darkroom residency at CPB Foundation.Concept Note:The artworks presented in this exhibition were created during a 6 week residency at the CPB Darkroom. Working acrossdifferent processes, the artists demonstrate the evolving possibilities of alternative and analog photographic techniques, often challenging traditional ideas. These projects draw on the darkroom as a space for meditative introspection, experimental discovery, friendship and camaraderie.From the ethereal beauty of large-format paper negatives to the rich, textured surfaces of gum oil prints, and the unexpected dialogues between AI and experimental darkroom techniques, “Alt:Analog” presents a diverse exploration of material, process and concept.Fighting FishHolly Birtles reflects on her ongoing work inspired by the Thames River London and Estuary in Kent, Essex and Suffolk, where performers and artists contemplate their choreographed roles as ‘Thames Monsters.’ In Chennai, Birtles responds to the Adyar and Cooum rivers, identifying parallels linked to sentimentality, dedication, care, and destruction. The paradox lies in the personal reverence for these sacred sources, juxtaposed with the toxicity and damage caused by anthropocentric activities and neglect.The project Fighting Fish embodies monstrosity, intertwining beauty and magnificence with the grotesque, haze, mud, waste, life, and death. The concept of ‘fight’ is explored through performative examinations reminiscent of autopsies, and directed body language during constructed performances. The physicality of these gestures conveys an ecological struggle—a lack of oxygen and a growing frustration with governmental inefficiencies related to new infrastructure. The physicality also reflects an emotive or sentimental response that connects with personal and historical associations of place. One set of images pays homage to Dutch artist Bas Jan Ader’s I’m Too Sad to Tell You (1970–1971), a silent film and postcard exploring emotional fragility. The work intertwines Ader’s sadness with his tragic disappearance during a solo Atlantic crossing in 1975, where his boat was found adrift nine months later. The homage portrays a melancholic man psychically attached to a fish in various forms. Birtles redirects Ader’s despair and sadness, reflecting on the severity of polluted rivers and the human dedication to bodies of water.Birtles explores optical paradigms and artificial intelligence to bring these life forms into existence. In the book On the Existence of Digital Objects, Yuk Hui describes computer generated images as “digital objects”, referring to new imagery that responds to real-world objects. This concept positions CGI as a digital truth, maintaining authenticity in its own form. Birtles adopts this framework by using selected imagery of creatures, textures, performances, places, and portraits to create her own ‘digital objects.’ She subverts and collaborates with the AI pro- gram Mid Journey through image inputs and digital editing, transforming digital simulations into experimental silver gelatin prints. The repetitive nature of Mid Journey, which generates multiple versions of the same image, is reflected in her darkroom manipulation, often disregarding traditional processes. The unified and repetitive display reflects the AI interface, depicting multiple versions of the same image or ‘monster.
Shimada Yoshiko’s repertoire of remembrance: art activism as a response to Japanese colonialism and military sexual violence
Full text linkIn 2003, amidst escalating tensions encapsulated by the US-led invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, the artist Shimada Yoshiko staged a series of anti-war performances under the umbrella of the global Women in Black movement, invoking the spectre of Japan’s WWII aggression in Asia to catalyse a collective response towards violence and its erasure. This article revisits a selection of artworks that she produced between 1993 and 2003, showing how these works illustrate the formation of a feminist aesthetic for ‘doing’ activism against violence. It locates the political role of collaborative modes of remembrance within her practice, centring the citational, performative and embodied dimensions of her strategies for addressing the gender-specific violence of Japanese colonialism epitomized by the ‘comfort woman’ system of military sexual slavery established by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces from 1932 to 1945. Drawing on Diana Taylor’s (2003) theorization of the embodied ‘repertoire’ as an epistemic site that resists the violence of the colonial archive, and Nicholas Mirzoeff’s (2020) account of ‘devisualizing’ as an ethos of undoing scopic regimes formed around colonial structures of domination, I contend that Shimada’s activist repertoire embeds a practice of critiquing the relationship between visuality, coloniality and violence
The National Care Service:A Victim of Elite Class Struggle
No full textDespite years of negotiation between the Scottish Government, Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs), unions and local authorities, the National Care Service had barely gotten past the ideas-board stage before it was scrapped by Maree Todd MSP at the end of January. As the Glasgow Disability Alliance pointed out in response to its publication, the Bill fudged questions of who was responsible for what in the proposed system, and how its rules would be enforced. The Bill also left its relationship to other legislation intolerably unclear. It guaranteed little more than a government committee in an already bloated bureaucracy, patiently awaiting empowerment by secondary legislation.If we are to succeed in our next attempts to bring a nationalised and user-friendly care service onto the agenda, our strategy must begin from a clear explanation of how the NCS coalition collapsed, and a precise understanding of our opponents’ interests, incentives, and capacities. What follows is a provisional sketch for such an explanation
doggerLANDscape:Joining Doggerland
No full textFor ‘Joining Doggerland', Olivia Louvel presents ‘doggerLANDscape’, a video art based on her search for the remnants of the submerged forest of Doggerland along the Lincolnshire coast. The mixed-media group exhibition 'Joining Doggerland' at APT Gallery, London, addresses the anticipated flooding set to affect the Fenlands, East Anglia, coastal Britain, and low-lying London in the next five years. It was curated by Shannon Best. <br/
Procreate Landscapes on the iPad
No full textProcreate Landscapes on the iPad explains how to use this ingenious package to paint powerful landscapes at the press of the Apple pencil. By breaking down painting a landscape into different steps, it shows how Procreate can help an artist find their direction and try new techniques to create more expressive work. Referencing the work of Masters throughout, Philip Tyler shows how digital painting follows a long tradition of artists observing and interpreting the landscape, and how you can effectively use Procreate to develop your own ideas.<br/
“There’s a brand new dance”: fashion in English men’s and women’s professional football
Full text linkThis article explores the intricate and evolving relationship between English football, its male and female professional players, and the fashion industries from the inter-war years of the last century to the present day. Following a historical overview that engages with traditional understandings of classed masculinity, the article argues that some of the most significant aspects of the contemporary football and fashion relationship can be uncovered by exploring the game's dynamic relationships with race and gender. Additionally, the article illuminates the contrasting roles of social media, with digital platforms and social media sites both allowing players to express their styles and create brands, and influencing production and content in relation to neoliberal and gendered economies. The article combines approaches from cultural studies, fashion studies, media studies, history and sociology, and uses key examples both from within football itself and from selected print and digital sources from the fashion industries