The Gaze and the Global
By Dr Uma Vangal
(Filmmaker and Professor, India)
In the visual arts as well as other art forms, the 'gaze' is crucial in the way we see and perceive ideas and images of cultures and peoples. The gaze is informed by a worldview; it is a way of looking at the world and presenting it to an audience. The audience in turn is also seeing and interacting with an artwork with their own particular cultural gaze. Powerful visual representations on TV, in advertisements, artworks, documentaries, TV news, and photographs can convey distorted ideas about certain cultures.
A conversation has to emerge that can pave the way for new views of the world, with gazes that are informed, that can influence, gazes that interrogate and are capable of introspection. The idea is to explore the possibility of a global gaze that is sensitive to cultural context and promotes better understanding. A series of visuals will be screened, followed by group activities that will include presentations and discussions on questions such as: How do we see and internalise images? How do images influence and represent the way we see the world? How are cultures perceived and informed by cultural contexts?