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Embody
Other creative works - Photography   Open access

Embody

Talhy Stotzer
M/C Journal, Vol.15(4)
an M/C publication
2012
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Embody_Cover_Image2.41 MBDownloadView
Open Access

Abstract

The image, titled Embody, depicts Zhai Yu, 41, during a possession ritual in her apartment in Dalian, China. While performing as a medium, Zhaiyu’s physical body becomes a permeable membrane through which the material and the immaterial, the visible and the invisible converge: during her practice, the invisible spirit of the ancestor or deity is made visible through embodiment. Most importantly, the entity’s divine knowledge is literally embodied by Zhaiyu and is used to help ‘guests’ who have come to seek advice. The work was selected for the cover of MC Journals special issue curated around the theme of embodied knowledge — exploring how the body is understood, experienced and theorised in various media, cultural and social contexts. The core idea of the issue was to challenge traditional mind-centred approaches and foreground the body as a site of knowledge, experience and cultural meaning. Embody contributed to wider discussions on how the body is experienced, represented, and mediated within social and cultural practices.

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