Photo-translation: Collaborative practice in migration image research

Birgit Mersmann
Universität Duisburg-Essen
Abstract

This article introduces the concept of ‘photo-translation’ for studying documentary photography as a collaborative practice of visual translation. The visual-translational approach to photo documentation is applied in a novel way to the emerging field of contemporary migration photography, thus relating recent theoretical connections between translation and migration studies to explorations in visual studies. The study discusses how participatory and collaborative practices are increasingly used in contemporary photo documentation to challenge, if not remove, the relational ‘othering’ effect inherent in the photo-documentary representation of refugees, migrants and displaced peoples. The potential of translaboration as a mode of translational collaboration is explored through an in-depth analysis of two photo projects: (1) the participatory photo project Fotohistorias (Gomez and Vannini 2015), conducted by social and information scientists Ricardo Gomez and Sara Vannini in cooperation with migrants at the US–Mexico border; and (2) the collaborative photo–graphic novel project Lampedusa: Image Stories from the Edge of Europe (Migrant Image Research Group 2017), carried out by the Migrant Image Research Group under the guidance of Armin Linke. Demanding agency in visual translation proves to be essential for these participatory photo projects, since they aim to challenge dominant visual representations of how migration is narrated and represented in the media and academic discourse. For this reason, the investigation draws on new sociological approaches in Translation Studies in order to frame photo-translation as a social practice and as a form of (activist) engagement involving various agents and institutions.

Keywords:
Publication history

Date received: 30 May 2020

Date accepted: 30 May 2020

Published online: 7 July 2020

Table of contents

Translation research in visual studies is an underrepresented field of investigation, even though “visual translation has a particular explosive force arising from the all-encompassing transcultural worlds of media and images” (Bachmann-Medick 2012, 36–37). In this article, I argue that translaboration (Alfer 2017; Zwischenberger 2017) serves as a model of joint research between Translation Studies and areas of visual culture or image research. I aim to implement the ‘iconic’/‘pictorial turn’ in Translation Studies (Mersmann 2008; Fernández-Ocampo and Wolf 2014; Bachmann-Medick 2016, 245–278) and link it to major cultural (Bassnett and Lefevere 1990; Bachmann-Medick 2016, 178–185) and sociological reorientations (Angelelli 2014; Wolf and Fukari 2007; Wolf 2010) within translation theory. The specific perspective from which I intend to pursue this objective is that of ‘photo-translation’ – a new term that I introduce in this article for approaching documentary photography as a translational practice. The primary definition of photo-translation, as applied in this study for the purpose of migration image research, relates to the visual transmittance of migrants’ living-world experiences by means of photography. The concept of translation, traditionally restricted to the translation of symbolic forms and objects of cultural representation, is extended to the translation of human subjects and their realities in situations of mobility and transition, shedding light on how lived experiences of migration are translated into photo documents (i.e., visual representations). Since documentary photography has to follow the principle of fidelity to capture a story of real people and original events, documentary photo-translation shares common ground with translation-theoretical concepts that valorize equivalence and fidelity as key principles. With regard to the intricate negotiations between fidelity to reality and artistic freedom in photo-aesthetic rendering, the task of the documentary photographer can be equated to that of the translator. The second layer of meaning of photo-translation, which is at the center of the investigation in this study, concerns the study of documentary photography beyond its mere representational function. It relates to photo documentation as a visual, cultural and social practice, method and process of translation, and thus involves the inclusion of more recent actor-, agency- and collaboration-oriented approaches in translation theory. In this broader mediation context, documentary photo-translation is not confined to a purely visual practice of representation; it is embedded in the interpersonal and intercultural, oral and written communication contexts required for the decoding and mediation of migrant experiences as visually captured in the photograph. It is not restricted to a single-authored translation activity (that of the single photographer documenting human migrant realities), since it involves collaborative practice for fully-fledged performance. This aspect will be highlighted in the analysis of participatory photo-documentation projects with migrants.

Full-text access is restricted to subscribers. Log in to obtain additional credentials. For subscription information see Subscription & Price. Direct PDF access to this article can be purchased through our e-platform.

References

Ahmed, Maroussia, Corinne Alexandre-Garner, Nicholas Serruys, Iulian Toma, and Isabelle Keller-Privat
2015 Migrations/Translations. Paris: Presses universitaires de Paris Ouest.Google Scholar
Alfer, Alexa
2017 “Entering the Translab: Translation as Collaboration, Collaboration as Translation, and the Third Space of ‘Translaboration’.” In ‘Translaboration’: Translation as Collaboration, edited by Alexa Alfer, special issue of Translation and Translanguaging in Multicultural Contexts 3 (3): 275–290. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Angelelli, Claudia
ed. 2014 The Sociological Turn in Translation and Interpreting Studies. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Azoulay, Ariella
2008 The Civil Contract of Photography. Translated by Rela Mazali and Ruvik Danieli. New York: Zone Books.Google Scholar
2012 Civil Imagination: A Political Ontology of Photography. Translated by Louise Bethlehem. London: Verso.Google Scholar
Bachmann-Medick, Doris
2012 “Translation – A Concept and Model for the Study of Culture.” In Travelling Concepts for the Study of Culture, edited by Birgit Neumann and Ansgar Nünning, 23–44. Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2016 Cultural Turns: New Orientations in the Study of Culture. Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2018 “Migration as Translation.” In Migration: Changing Concepts, Critical Approaches, edited by Doris Bachmann-Medick and Jens Kugele, 273–293. Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bal, Mieke
2019 “Close Encounters: Producing Mutual ʻIntegration’.” In Handbook of Art and Global Migration: Theories, Practices, and Challenges, edited by Burcu Dogramaci and Birgit Mersmann, 79–101, Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Banks, Marcus, and David Zeitlyn
eds. 2015 Visual Methods in Social Research. 2nd ed. London: SAGE.Google Scholar
Bassnett, Susan, and André Lefevere
eds. 1990 Translation, History, and Culture. London: Printer Publishers.Google Scholar
Boehm, Gottfried
1995 “Die Wiederkehr der Bilder.” In Was ist ein Bild?, edited by Gottfried Boehm, 11–38. München: Wihelm Fink.Google Scholar
Buzelin, Hélène
2011 “Agents of Translation.” In Handbook of Translation Studies, vol. 2, edited by Yves Gambier and Luc Van Doorslaer, 6–12. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Callon, Michel
1984 “Some Elements of a Sociology of Translation: Domestication of the Scallops and the Fishermen of St Brieuc Bay.” The Sociological Review 32 (1): 196–233. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Calore, Elisa
2017 “Migrant Image Research Group: An Image – A Statement.” Accessed August 28, 2018. http://​2017​.biennalefotografie​.de​/en​/edition​/journal​/fragen​-an​-die​-migrant​-image​-research​-group
Cordingley, Anthony, and Céline Frigau Manning
eds. 2017 Collaborative Translation: From the Renaissance to the Digital Age. London: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Cronin, Michael
2003 Translation and Globalization. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
2006 Translation and Identity. New York: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Curtis, Neal
2010 The Pictorial Turn. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Felski, Rita
2016 “Comparison and Translation: A Perspective from Actor–Network Theory.” Comparative Literature Studies 53 (4): 747–765. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fernández-Ocampo, Anox, and Michaela Wolf
eds. 2014 Framing the Interpreter: Towards a Visual Perspective. London: Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gomez, Ricardo, and Sara Vannini
2015 Fotohistorias: Participatory Photography and the Experience of Migration. Washington: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.Google Scholar
Gomez, Ricardo, Ivette Bayo, Philip Reed, Cherry Wang, and M. Marisol Silva
2013 “Fearless Cards: A Low-Tech Solution to Help Overcome Emotional Barriers to ICT Adoption Among Marginalized Populations.” EJISDC – Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries 56 (1), 1–15. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hekkanen, Raila
2009 “Fields, Networks and Finnish Prose: A Comparison of Bourdieusian Field Theory and Actor–Network Theory in Translation Sociology.” In Translation and the (Trans)formation of Identities: Selected Papers of the CETRA Research Seminar in Translation Studies 2008, edited by Dries De Crom, 1–22. https://​www​.arts​.kuleuven​.be​/cetra​/papers​/files​/hekkanen​.pdf
Hermans, Theo
1996 “The Translator’s Voice in Translated Narrative.” Target: International Journal of Translation Studies 8 (1): 23–48. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Inghilleri, Moira
2017 Translation and Migration. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Jakobson, Roman
1959 “On Linguistic Aspects of Translation.” In On Translation, edited by Reuben A. Brower, 232–239. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jansen, Hanne, and Anna Wegener
2013 “Multiple Translatorship.” In Authorial and Editorial Voices in Translation 1: Collaborative Relationships between Authors, Translators and Performers, edited by Hanne Jansen and Anne Wegener, 1–39. Montréal: Éditions québequois de l’œuvre.Google Scholar
Latour, Bruno
1996 “On Actor–Network Theory: A Few Clarifications.” Soziale Welt 47 (4): 369–381.Google Scholar
Maar, Christa, and Hubert Burda
eds. 2004 Iconic Turn: Die neue Macht der Bilder. Köln: DuMont.Google Scholar
Mersmann, Birgit
2008 “(Fern-)Verkehr der Bilder: Mediologie als methodischer Brückenschlag zwischen Bild- und Übersetzungswissenschaft.” In Mediologie als Methode, edited by Thomas Weber and Birgit Mersmann, 149–168. Berlin: Avinus.Google Scholar
2014 “D/Rifts between Visual Culture and Image Culture: Relocations of the Transnational Study of the Visual.” In The Trans/National Study of Culture: A Translational Perspective, edited by Doris Bachmann-Medick, 237–260. Berlin: De Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Migrant Image Research Group
2017 Lampedusa: Image Stories from the Edge of Europe. Leipzig: Spector Books.Google Scholar
Mitchell, W. J. T.
1995 Picture Theory: Essays on Verbal and Visual Representation. Chicago: Chicago University Press.Google Scholar
Palmer, Daniel
2013 “A Collaborative Turn in Contemporary Photography?” photographies 6 (1): 117–125. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pink, Sarah
2001 Doing Visual Ethnography: Images, Media and Representation in Research. London: SAGE.Google Scholar
Polezzi, Loredana
2012a “Translation and Migration.” Translation Studies 5 (3): 345–356. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
2012b “Migration and Translation.” Handbook of Translation Studies, vol. 3, edited by Yves Gambier and Luc van Doorslaer, 102–107. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roberts, John
2014 Photography and its Violations. New York: Columbia University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Shiga, John
2007 “Translations: Artifacts from an Actor–Network Perspective.” Artifact 1 (1): 40–55. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Spector Books
n.d. “About.” Accessed December 12, 2018. http://​spectorbooks​.com​/about
Szörényi, Anna
2006 “The Images Speak for Themselves? Reading Refugee Coffee-Table Books.” Visual Studies 21 (1): 24–41. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tymoczko, Maria
2005 “Trajectories of Research in Translation Studies.” Meta 50 (4): 1082–1097. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vorderobermeier, Gisella, and Michaela Wolf
eds. 2008 “Meine Sprache grenzt mich ab…”: Transkulturalität und kulturelle Übersetzung im Kontext von Migration. Münster: LIT.Google Scholar
Wenzel, Jan
2017 “‘Photography Is Quite Good. But Not Good Enough’: The Search for New Forms of Visual Display.” In Lampedusa: Image Stories from the Edge of Europe, edited by the Migrant Image Research Group, 23–26. Leipzig: Spector Books.Google Scholar
Whittle, Andrea, and André Spicer
2008 “Is Actor Network Theory Critique?” Organizational Studies 29 (4): 611–629. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wolf, Michaela, and Alexandra Fukari
eds. 2007 Constructing a Sociology of Translation. Amsterdam: Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Wolf, Michaela
2010 “Translation ‘Going Social’? Challenges to the (Ivory) Tower of Babel.” MonTI 2: 29–46. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Vannini, Sara, Ricardo Gomez, and Veronica Guajardo
2016 “Security and Activism: Using Participatory Photography to Elicit Perceptions of Information and Authority among Hispanic Migrants in the U.S.” iConference 2016 Proceedings, https://​www​.ideals​.illinois​.edu​/bitstream​/handle​/2142​/89319​/Vannini279​.pdf​?sequence​=1​&isAllowed​=y
Yefimova, Katja, Moriah Neils, Bryce Clayton Newell, and Ricardo Gomez
2015 “Fotohistorias: Participatory Photography as a Methodology to Elicit the Life Experiences of Migrants.” In Proceedings of the 48th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 3672–3681. https://​www​.computer​.org​/csdl​/proceedings​/hicss​/2015​/7367​/00​/7367d672​.pdf
Zwischenberger, Cornelia
2017 “Translation as a Metaphoric Traveller across Disciplines. Wanted: Translaboration!” In ‘Translaboration’: Translation as Collaboration, edited by Alexa Alfer, special issue of Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts 3 (3): 388–406. DOI logoGoogle Scholar