ANTHMETHGRP3-2425-CONSTANTINE-KALOUTAS

[Last modified: December, 4 2024 05:53 PM]

ANTH0122 PRACTICAL PROJECT PROPOSAL FORM

Student Name: Constantine Kaloutas

Title of Project: Identity creation within Wraith community.

1. Project Summary

My project will explore the unique self-expression of the subculture formed around the Wraith club night in London, focusing on how this space helps shape the identity, community, and experiences of those who attend. I am interested in the contrast of my participants’ expressions before and after accessing this community. Additionally, how social media are used to document and further communicate these identities will be explored. The core question I’m investigating is: In what ways does “Wraith” club night nurture the non-normative subcultural identity and experiences of its attendees, both online and in person?

I will be recruiting participants directly at the event and through the tagged section of Wraith’s social media accounts. Alongside participant observation and digital ethnography, I’ll hold interviews, particularly as attendees prepare for the event. Focus group discussions will also be organised. The research will blend in-person and online interactions, covering live observations at Wraith, the pre-event preparation phase, and analysis of how these identities are expressed physically and digitally. These sessions will delve into how people developed their transgressive self-presentation and how far has the wraith community allowed them to develop it.

2. Link to London and Experience

This project looks at a specific London nightlife scene. Particularly Wraith’s unique subcultural style which sets it apart from other night events in London and the wider world’s club culture. By focusing on the Wraith club night, an event that does not fit in any other similar genre within cultural landscapes, I will be able to observe what are the specific consequences in people’s styles within this scene and community.

3. Positionality

I have a unique connection within the Wraith community; many attendees know me personally and are familiar with my art as Anthromorph. As a close friend of the Wraith family, my work has influenced a lot of younger participants in the scene. While I keep my work anonymous, some people recognise me if I attend the event. This gives me an insider’s perspective but also it might impose a hierarchy when I try to speak to younger members of the community. Identifying as a trans agender individual, I am sensitive to the challenges around queer expression, a theme that resonates deeply within Wraith. This gives me a genuine understanding and respect for my participant’s experiences. At the same time, I’ll stay aware of my existing relationships within the community to ensure no one feels pressured to take part in the study due to our past connections.

4. Research ethics

The ethical challenges of researching in a nightlife environment need to be highlighted for this project. One key issue is ensuring informed consent, particularly since participants may be under the influence of alcohol or other substances. To address this, I’ll obtain consent before or after events when participants are sober and can fully understand the study’s aims and their rights. Consent will also be ongoing, allowing participants to withdraw at any point, even after data is collected.

Nightlife spaces like Wraith often blur public and private boundaries; while events are in public venues, attendees might engage in behaviors they see as intimate or illegal. I will stop recording any data or taking notes if illegal activity such as drug use is occurring. I’ll respect boundaries by letting participants opt out of observation, photography, or recording. For visual documentation, such as outfit photos or performance captures, I’ll obtain explicit consent, offering participants a chance to review and approve images. Identifiable features in sensitive visuals will be blurred, and images will only be shared with participant approval.

Considering that many attendees belong to vulnerable groups, including LGBTQ+ individuals, I’ll prioritise protecting their anonymity, especially on sensitive topics if this could put them in danger in their physical environment. During interviews, any emotional discomfort will be respected by allowing breaks or withdrawal.

6. Data protection

Recognising the importance of visual self-expression for Wraith attendees, especially in fashion and online presence I will need to handle any images of participants with care. If photos of their outfits or looks are to be shared on the project’s website, I’ll ensure they provide explicit consent for this use. For those who prefer to remain anonymous, I’ll blur or edit out faces and any identifying details. If their posts or digital footprint needs to be published, I will take measures to blur usernames or other identifiers. Additionally, participants will have the chance to review and approve any visuals before they are published, so they feel comfortable with their representation. All data, including recordings and images, will be securely stored on UCL servers, and identifying details will be removed or anonymised to protect privacy.

7. Ethical Guidelines

I confirm that I’ve read the Department’s ethical guidelines for both online and offline research, along with those of the Association of Social Anthropologists (ASA). I’m committed to following and revisiting these principles and practices carefully throughout my research.

Signature: Constantine Kaloutas

Date: 26/11/24

[Last modified: November, 28 2024 11:00 PM]

for the multimodal week, I did not take a lot of images or recordings during the exercise. i focused on observing the senses of while we were sitting in the room discussing what we could observe.

then we had a very nice discussion with my team members about our own fiction writing and how we mythologised our stories to create narratives on how we overcame trauma and managed to heal. I’ve exercised art in the past as a way of art therapy, and from past seminars on multimodality, I realised this is a method I would love to explore with future interlocutors.

I think giving people tools to narrate a story and document this process, whether it’s either by writing a mythological autobiography together, a drawing, a physical performance, or any other type of creative outlet, could give significant ethnographic data. stories that might be too sensitive or heavy could be delt with and expressed through play.

I was also thinking a lot about how anthropological findings can be showcased to a greater audience. i was thinking of ways data can turn into installations, immersive audioscapes and collective exhibitions. I have a feeling i will try to realise this in real life one day, it stimulated me a lot.

[Last modified: November, 28 2024 11:01 PM]

You are in a human room, in a human street. The bedroom is made, and makeup and accessories are laid out in front of the mirror. you observe the artist dubbing white paint in their face and neck, taking it down and fading in the rest of their body. The movement is done so fast as if it comes from body memory. It does come from body memory. It is a process of laying a foundational characteristic replicated so many times for the individual getting ready. It is the same as taking a shower. Minutes pass by, and an outsider might be getting impatient, but the artist takes great care to complete this essential part of the routine with no complaints. After the paint comes powder. You see the residue of these materials still on the brushes that are used daily for the same purpose. time has passed, and the foundation is laid. shadows cast differently in the human body now. It is time for more creative movements to take place. Bold colours and finer paint brushes are the new tools, and they curve shapes in the faceless like makeup and more like new types of animal patterns.

The choice of clothing or lack of is essential for the final product of what they are creating. The labourus process of getting ready in this setting is not to showcase this experssion in a temporal social setting. It is done to be imortalized on the digital extension of the social body of the artist. They chose to almost be naked, the main fashioning of the body being hair reinveting hairlines, and the paitning. They then take their props and go witha friend who is dressed normally to be photographed in their location of choice.

It is the garden of their house, nearby the shed. They have a mental image of what body parts they need to photograph in what location in order to collage and construct their desire anatomy later. The process of capturing the image is not a traditional one. Elements of the final single image are shot strategically in procession. First the core of the body with attention on thw facial perception. Then, the extra limbs are. shot by staying in posiytion but bending in unconventional positions that place the limbs in the right light and gravity that will allow the natural overlay on the core. You end up taking many different addiotnal positions. The photographer is activly staying as syill as they can since any change of angle would distort the realisim of the final image and would make the labour needed to shape the final expression useless.

when this is done, they go back into the comfort of the human house. they get undressed or stay in the makeup to enjoy more moments of freedom and unconventionality. they jump into editing immediately. similar to a plastic surgeon, their scalpel is Photoshop. they dismember and reassemble themselves cumulatively. this makes them smile. They fidget. seeing their limbs move in the digital space freely makes them happy. the freedom of rearrangement is empowering. The expression now takes the form of still repetitive labour with attention to detail in front of a screen. the finger’s movements and the precision are essential.   

[Last modified: October, 31 2024 02:28 PM]

the smell of falafel is it in the air. hallumi chicken wraps sizzling. people are walking by fast to get to their destination and try to ignore what is happening next to them. others are in long queues waiting for their food. You see flags trying to catch your attention. some people pay attention. some are eating and drinking coffee chatting with their friends. Gaza daily update is written in the white board. the encampment is hidden by fast food stands. a student who often stays at the camp told us of an event that happened yesterday. a Zionist attacked the gathering. two police vans came and were interviwing people.

Police allowys give them trouble. apparently in the last location of the camp polcie came and assaulted students so they can kick them out.

people are on the phones. they will look at the flag and then look down.

are people disensitired? to they dissoisate by saying they are busy?it blends in the backroudbut people do look. they glace and then look -the floor.

no one went to talk to the campers in 45 minutes.

many students pass by.

[Last modified: October, 24 2024 08:55 PM]

What is your research topic

More than human / hybrid representation and bodily expression on instagram.

Why is this particular inters to u

I have personal experience and was organically called to explore this in my early adulthood. More people have become exploring it particularly gender queer individuals.  I am curious why becoming other to the extreme helps someone accept feelings of otherness in society.

What preconceived ideas are you brinfing to this research

I have for long time contextualised this practice in my own work and established a theoretical understanding of what this performance does, but more often than not this non human expression comes as a natural impulse to most people and they do not have the rhetorical background to justify why they are doing it. It would be important to not just teach them why they are doing it but explore their own journey and growth through the practice.

Might your lived expereicne inform the way you interact with their participants.

As a gender queer person myself there iqwll be a shared understanding of the practice and familiarity. Possible common interests on hybridity and mutation will make it easy to enter conversation with them and allow me to follow with no need for many explanations.

So class race gender sexuality to other identity inform your approach to the reseach

I thunk it will be easier to talk about bullying, feelings of dysphoria and ostracisation and dissociation with my participants because I will be someone who came from the same background.

How might this inform the interprertation of data?

Interpreting the data might be easier because of this familiarity whereas in cases that I had no connection with might have been harder to make connections between the data but it is important to not project my own understanding of the mechanisms to my findings. Give space for my participants to showcase their insights.

[Last modified: October, 1 2024 06:15 PM]

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