The Multisensory Archive as an Ethnographic Research Method

Tom Jackson University of

Final Report April 2016 1) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY South Leeds. Originally constructed in 1840 as a flax mill, the building has a number of signature features. Ethnographic research “informed by theories The industrialist John Marshall had a fascination with of sensory perception” (Pink, 2010, p331) is Egyptology and therefore designed a facade for the undoubtedly an “emerging trend” in anthropology building inspired by the Temple of Horus in . It (Nakamura, 2013, p.132). Described by David Howes was also said to have the largest single room in the as “one of the most exciting developments in world at the time of construction. One room inside recent anthropology” (2010, p.338), it presents the Temple Works is two acres in size. opportunity to rethink established ethnographic practices and calls for interdisciplinary collaboration. The rationale for selecting Temple Works as a locus But what methods can we use to investigate the of academic enquiry can be made with regard to the role the multisensoriality of experience might play in past, present and future. shaping cultural phenomena? PAST The digital archive and its relationships with the As the only Grade I listed building in South Leeds, study of community and culture are also generating Temple Works is formally identified as a location academic interest as developments in digital of great historical significance. Constructed by technology facilitate new ways of accessing archival an important figure in the materials and new methods of co-creation. The and the location of numerous architectural and infrastructure of the digital archive as “community manufacturing innovations, the building is an memory” (Sugimoto, 2014), the ways in which the effective method of accessing the industrial past creation of a digital archive “alters the geography of of the region. The site provides an ideal opportunity community heritage production” (Beel et al., 2014) and for academic projects related to heritage, public the challenges presented by “cultural organisations engagement and the archive. wanting to take charge of the multimodal telling of their own histories” (Carlin, 2014), all suggest PRESENT recent developments in the relationships between During the initial phase of the pilot study, Temple the digital archive, community and culture. But is Works was home to a cultural project that an archive that contains a collection of objects of supported a wide range of creative practitioners: significance abstracted from their original context artists, musicians, performers and theatre groups. the most appropriate format, when the lived The project made an important contribution to the experience of a community is so vivid, connected region, providing a space that inspired creative and multisensory? collaborations. The location of the cultural project

LOCATION OF STUDY within such an unconventional space suggested academic study in the fields of ethnography, cultural Temple Works was selected as the location of the geography and environmental psychology. pilot study. It is a building of great historical and cultural significance, located in the area of

1 FUTURE 2) AIMS

Towards the end of the pilot study, the sale of Temple This seed project aimed to investigate the ways in Works (and the surrounding area) was agreed and which sensory ethnography and the digital archive the cultural project was required to vacate the might be synthesised, generating new fieldwork building. It could be argued that this development methods and new ways of knowing. The theoretical created a crucial moment for intervention, producing framework for this relationship was explored by impactful research that offers a critical perspective Johannes Fabian in ‘Ethnography as Commentary: on the processes of transition. The funds from this Writing from the Virtual Archive’ (2008) but this pilot study made it possible to realise this important project aimed to generate a practical output that contribution at this critical juncture. tested the relationship using the case study of an

PRACTICAL OUTPUT urban regeneration project.

The funding awarded for this pilot study made The project aimed to provide the network with: it possible to realise a piece of practical work that • A series of recommendations for the synthesis of sensory ethnography with the digital archive and directly addresses the intended aims of the project. a reflection upon the contribution digital archives The existing spatial and visual archive (created might make to ethnographic fieldwork. before this pilot project) was transformed into a • A critical evaluation of both the process and multisensory archive, including 360° binaural sound results of transforming a community space into a digital archive. recordings. This unique development was achieved The opportunity to contribute to a project that through the creation of bespoke web software • provides the public with virtual access to a and the purchase of experimental hardware, as priviliged space of great historical and cultural requested in the proposal. importance.

3) KEY FINDINGS

This pilot study has successfully illustrated that a multisensory virtual archive can be used as an ethnographic research method. Not only did the archive created as part of the pilot study prove effective in engaging research participants in the co-creation of knowledge regarding the sensory experience of the site, it has also garnered significant academic interest in the disciplines of anthropology, The multisensory archive is publicly accessible here: materiality and the digital archive (as evidenced http://tomjackson.photography/interactive/ templeworks/ by the research outputs). This pilot study has also achieved impact through public engagement both This is a direct link to a space with 360° audio: through a series of external events and by making tomjackson.photography/interactive/ templeworks?loc=mainspace the resulting archive accessible from anywhere in the world. 2 4) KEY ISSUES disseminating the findings of ethnographic results

“This is an emergent field, with new opportunities and the potential for an “excess of description” to respond to the challenges of finding ways to (Poole, 2005) has been a contentious issue since communicate in ways that are comprehensible to scholarly and public audiences about sensory ways of the development of the ‘writing culture’ of Clifford knowing in other people’s worlds.” (Pink, 2010) Geertz (1973).

As Pink (2010) highlights, an opportunity clearly “it is not just that language directs us away from the sensate, but, more severely, it develops in us a partial exists to create new methods for the production inability to sense.” (Tucker and Goodings, 2014) and dissemination of ethnographic knowledge that 5) NEXT STEPS relates to sensory experience. Existing methods of participant observation and interview could be The next step for this project is to add participatory rethought and new tools and techniques could be features. If the virtual archive could be developed developed in an effort to rescue the ineffable, tacit into a collaborative platform, the traditional and embodied knowledge gained during research paradigms for the production of ethnographic encounters in the field. The multisensory and knowledge might be significantly altered. Allowing immersive methods developed as part of this study experiences of the field of study to be accessed, might be one contribution to this ongoing discussion. analysed and contributed to from anywhere in the world, the authorial control of the ethnographer The auditory features added to the archive project may be reduced and the collaborative construction, might also speak to a growing concern regarding the interpretation and contestation of narratives, ocularcentric nature of so many studies of culture. memories and potential futures must be embraced. (See Classen (1997), Rodaway (2013), Low (2015) This concept of a multisensory and participatory and many others.) In attempting to create workable archive has already generated significant interest. A multisensory research methods, the dominance of paper entitled ‘The role of multisensory, embodied vision might be brought into question. and participatory media in the production and The new methods being developed might generate dissemination of ethnographic knowledge’ has been new avenues of enquiry that could have a significant accepted to the 2016 conference of the European impact upon the practices of ethnography. Making Association of Social Anthropologists and potential such vivid records of the research encounter available funding opportunities have been discussed with as part of the publication process encourages The Science Museum and an AHRC theme leader. authorial humility and a reflexive approach to the production of ethnographic knowledge. It might also facilitate a more dialogic approach to the study of culture, engaging research participants in new ways. Most significantly though, these methods speak to ongoing debates regarding ethnography and description. The reliance on textual methods of

3 6) IMPACT CCN+), Dr. Edgar Gómez Cruz (Research Fellow of the CCN+) and I co-hosted the event, demonstrating The pilot study has had impact related to academia, a shared interest in Temple Works as a locus of industry, policy making and public engagement. academic research. ACADEMIC

The following conference papers and research seminars all relate to the work produced during this pilot study, demonstrating how widely the research findings have been disseminated: Disrupting spaces/disciplines: A workshop about uncertainty in an uncertain space.

Jackson, T. 2015. Multisensory and Participatory Archives: On Monday 22nd June the Communities & Culture Network+ will be hosting a workshop to explore the theme of uncertainty in an uncertain space: Temple Works, Leeds. The aim of this workshop Embodiment, Spatiality and the Collaborative Construction of will be to generate a practical output in response to the theme and the space. The workshop will be hosted by Dr Yoko Akama, Principle Investigator of the Design + Ethnography + Futures Memories In: Sensory Cartographies University of Greenwich. project at RMIT University (Melbourne, Australia).

The theme of ‘uncertainty’ is a provocation to explore, imagine, interrogate, critique and immerse Jackson, T. 2016. The Multisensory Virtual Archive: into the unknown in order to disrupt our disciplinary approaches/frameworks to be able to think and imagine possible futures. This provocation is also intended to respond and intervene in the Embodied, Spatial and Participatory Methods for the space of Temple Works, a Grade 1 listed Victorian former flax mill that once made history with “the largest room in the world”. The lengthy (and uncertain) repair period necessary for such a unique Collaborative Construction of Ethnographic Knowledge. structure has given local and regional artists the opportunity to test the site’s spatial qualities and choreography. University of Glasgow. Participants in the workshop will include musicians, activists, photographers, ethnographers, and social scientists interested in ethnography, design, future and uncertainty.

Time: 10:00-16:00 Lunch: Provided (please state dietary requirements) GettingINDUSTRY there: Temple Works, Marshall Street, Holbeck, Leeds LS11 9YJ http://www.templeworksleeds.com/2010/07/24/how-do-you-get-to-temple-works/ TheRSVP: virtual [email protected] project not only contributed to academic research but also served as an invaluable tool in promoting the use of Temple Works (helping to generate revenue important to the survival of the cultural project). Having made such a strong contribution to Temple Works, the PI of this project was offered the position of ‘artist in residence’. This priviliged position not only made it possible to offer Jackson, T. 2016. Materiality in sound and listening. University of Leeds. further contributions to the cultural project but also

Jackson, T. [Forthcoming]. The role of multisensory, granted ongoing access to the site, essential to the embodied and participatory media in the production and success of the ethnographic research project. dissemination of ethnographic knowledge In: Visualizing futures: audio-visual practices for a contemporary POLICY MAKING anthropology. University of Milano-Bicocca. The virtual archive created during this pilot study has In June 2016, Yoko Akama (Associate Professor, been invaluable in informing decisions related to RMIT University, Melbourne) visited Temple Works the proposed sale and regeneration of the Temple to host a workshop on the theme of ‘uncertainty’. Works site. Leeds City Council, the Temple Works Dr. Helen Thornham (Principal Investigator of the cultural project and commercial investors have used

4 the project in developing a strategy for the future of The project was regularly shown at ‘heritage open the site. As the changes in ownership and plans for days’ at Temple Works. These events primarily the future are negotiated, the project has offered a attracted historians, local artists and people who critical perspective on the cultural value of spaces like used to be employed at Temple Works (typically Temple Works (and the impact any redevelopment when it was a distribution centre for Kays Catalogue). might have on it). Significant weight has been added Interestingly, the historians tended to view the to the argument that the regeneration should be project as an archive, the artists tended to focus sympathetic to the current sensory experience of on its aesthetic qualities and materiality and the the site.DISSEMINATION employees were interested in using the project as a method for accessing the past. PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT In June 2016, an exhibition of projects created at Although the exhibition and symposium proposed Temple Works is being held at as part of this project could not be organised due to as a legacy of the cultural project. With funding the potential changes in the ownership of Temple from Leeds City Council and the support of many Works, many other public engagement activities previous ‘artists in residence’, the exhibition hopes to have taken place, or are planned for the near future. celebrate the contribution that the project made to In September 2015, the virtual archive project was the creative and cultural community of South Leeds. selected for exhibition at the Digital Design Weekend 8) FUNDING at the V&A. This high profile event allowed the project to be demonstrated to academic colleagues, At this time, the project has not yet been awarded any industry practitioners and the general public. Over follow-on funding. However, the tools developed 9,000 visitors attended over two days. Not only did as part of this pilot study were a key component this event generate increased academic interest in in a large, cross-university RCUK/Innovate UK bid. the project, raise the profile of the CCN+ and result in Although the bid was unsuccessful the innovative the submission of a large cross-university research methods that we proposed were congratulated. funding application, it also illustrated that the project is relatable for a broad audience:

Tom Jackson

[email protected] 0113 343 1117 media.leeds.ac.uk/ people/tom-jackson

5 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beel, D. et al. 2015. The Geographies of Community History Digital Archives in Rural Scotland. Scottish Geographical Journal. 0(0),pp.1–11.

Calvert, G. et al. (eds.). 2004. The handbook of multisensory processes. Cambridge, Mass. ; London: MIT Press.

Carlin, D. 2014. A digital archive in the circus: Between the archive and the repertoire. Media International Australia. 153,pp.98–106.

Classen, C. 1997. Foundations for an anthropology of the senses. International Social Science Journal. 49(153),pp.401–412.

Degen, M.M. 2008. Sensing cities: regenerating public life in Barcelona and Manchester. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon ; New York: Routledge.

Edensor, T. 2007. Sensing the Ruin. The Senses and Society. 2(2),pp.217–232.

Fabian, J. 2002. Virtual Archives and Ethnographic Writing: ‘Commentary’ as a New Genre? Current Anthropology. 43(5),pp.775–786.

Geertz, C. 1973. The interpretation of cultures: selected essays. Perseus Books Group.

Low, K.E.Y. 2015. The sensuous city: Sensory methodologies in urban ethnographic research. Ethnography. 16(3),pp.295–312.

Marks, L.U. 2002. Touch: sensuous theory and multisensory media. Minneapolis [u.a.: University of Minnesota Press.

Nakamura, K. 2013. Making Sense of Sensory Ethnography: The Sensual and the Multisensory. American Anthropologist. 115(1),pp.132–135.

Pink, S. 2010. The future of sensory anthropology/the anthropology of the senses. Social Anthropology. 18(3),pp.331–333.

Pink, S. 2012. Doing Sensory Ethnography. SAGE Publications Ltd.

Poole, D. 2005. AN EXCESS OF DESCRIPTION: Ethnography, Race, and Visual Technologies. Annual Review of Anthropology. 34(1),pp.159–179.

Rodaway, P. 2013. Sensuous Geographies: Body, Sense and Place. Routledge.

Sugimoto, S. 2014. Digital archives and metadata as critical infrastructure to keep community memory safe for the future – lessons from Japanese activities. Archives and Manuscripts. 42(1),pp.61–72.

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