Paper Title: Exploring Animism and the Representation of the Spirit through Ethnographic Animation
"This paper explores the history of the martial art Capoeira that was created by the African slaves taken to Salvador da Bahia, Brazil and its connection to the religion of Candomblé formulated from the native religion from West Africa. Used as a symbol of freedom, it was forbidden out of fear that the slaves would fight back. Practise continued by incorporating ‘ginga’ a dance move that concealed that they were fighting. Music was also used to disguise the fight as a dance.
Working with a local community Capoeira group based in South East London, the research investigates the relationships between ethnographic study and animation practices and how animation can represent the phenomenon of the spirit. I think it's important to mention that my ancestors were slaves in Brazil which is what prompted this research; it initially started as an exploration of my cultural heritage and then became a confrontation of colonial methodology and a re-imagining of these visual tools."
