Anonymous
General Note:
[…] Ellipses Journal for Creative Research endeavours to make bare the process of research and development in creative and artistic research. This is for readers / viewers an opportunity and mechanism to see the types of academic critique engaged with creative research and to make visible the responses and development.
The following peer review was produced blind and in process, the artist / author has subsequently been given the opportunity to respond and develop both the theoretical and interactive parts of the article before publication. What you see published has been edited post this review.
Peer Review 1: And so we may feel the echos (2020)
Reviewer: Anonymous
Which aspects of the submission are of interest / relevance and why?
‘And so we may feel echoe’ takes up the subject of dust, it’s material and scientific composition, various situated interpretations, and affect. Engaging with a substance so ubiquitous it evades perception and fades into obscurity is both an ambitious and relevant project. The question posed in the video, “where did it come from? where is it going?” is central to both the research question and method. Ultimately, by structure and presentation of outcomes, the idea of origin and endings are thrown into suspension. The topic selection is extremely relevant to the thematics of this issue due to the way it troubles categories of last implying finality or fixity. Dust, by nature, is unsettled and disruptive. With the “first” neutrino as a point of departure, the research calls to attention that which is often overlooked : pollen, neutrinos, mine dust, are cast as actors and inheritances of the city. This is generative for the idea of “lasts” in Johannesburg. Documenting a mine trip, collecting imagery of related themes, and writing a research essay, the submission asks us to reconsider the industry, land, and movement through this lens of settled and unsettling residue. The outcome is evidence of several layers of the city’s past, present, and futures -connecting its reach to fingernails, airports, New Zealand –while also situating the research in a mine shaft in Boksburg, pollination and seasonal allergies.
How are the artistic and research outcomes represented?
The relationship between the subject and the research is most interesting in terms of knowledge production. The voice over on the video calls in the “I,” both the viewer being called to reflect on the prompts and also the narrator herself. Integration of the subject in inquiry is helpful to navigate the many interwoven themes and sources being drawn upon in this work. In the essay, the almost-instrusive-like-dust italic text operates as if it blew in from another place. Indeed it locates Georgia, far from the mines in Johannesburg. In terms of the central questions, the research itself is more heuristic than methodical or outcome-oriented.
The essay concludes with many questions, similar to the introductory piece on the main web-page. The effect is that I came away from the work with an attunement for the dust in my immediate surroundings and a curiosity about its origins and destinations.
How well does the design support the submission?
The design of a video at the top, an essay underneath, and dust cursor-activated simulation provides an effective experience of layers. I appreciate the cursor bit greatly. Pieces of the essay are hidden when viewing the video and I wonder if there might be an intention about which parts of the essay can be viewed while watching the video. As a note, I wanted to copy the text to paste quotes here and noticed that feature is not possible.
Are there any ethical or legal concerns?
None that I am aware of.
Conclusions and and pre publication revision:
Overall, I really enjoyed this submission. It opened many possibilities and avenues for continued reflection and possibility. It does a wonderful job of inspiring wonder, disgust, and awe in the prolific nature of dust, neutrinos, pollen, etc. The persistence, unquantifiable, dispersed nature of dust holds so much. Yet so vastly decentralized and often ignored, it’s accumulation makes a great research topic.As a possible revision, I might provide captions or make text from the video available for accessibility reasons. Another point of revision might be the essay’s conclusion. I am left curious what the author thinks about the questions they pose, especially the concluding questions about the lungs and the impact of dust. It may be implied in the tone but it could benefit from being explicit. Dedicated engagement on the question of where dust settles, even if it is unsettled, might support this submission’s research questions.
