Mapping mobility through the moving image : new geographies, migratory movements and urban spaces in contemporary video practices

The aim of this thesis is to provide a critical framework for addressing the use of the moving image in contemporary art that studies geography through the experiences of the mobile body and the use of a mobile camera. The research focuses on artistic practices that use video narratives to experiment with and explore contemporary dimensions of economic migration and cultural movement as a topic in which contemporary artists are engaged, either in representing their own movements or in observing those of others. Through the analysis of this complex field, the text argues that particular moving image works produce new cartographies of both urban space and also social relations within these territories of change and encounter. My research focuses on contemporary artists' use of video in several related ways. Video recording may be used as a primary research t061 for first-hand encounters reflecting the empirical aspect of traditional documentary practices as knowledge gathering procedures. T have examined what T term the 'analytical inscription' of video as articulat~d through the artist's subjective experience specifically in terms of the production of visual narratives based on primary 'source material'. These narratives can take the form of what has been recently named video essays, or they can be examples of narrative construction placed in a cinematic narrative and video installation environment. My practice seeks to bridge the objectivity of documentary and the subjectivity of the essay by articulating my experiences as filmmaker through narrative construction drawing on the experiences of 'others'. The thesis text attempts to contextualize my practice by relating contemporary theories of urban space and new geographies to the specificities of contemporary artists' uses of the moving image and the mobility enabled by video technology.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo