Visual Culture and Extraction: Materiality, Interpretation, Power

Call for Papers

Visual Culture and Extraction

Materiality, Interpretation, Power

Symposium Date: 17-18 June 2025
Location:  Hotel Indigo, Durham
CFP Submission Deadline: 31 March 2025

Keynote Speaker: Dr David Campbell, Director of Education, VII Foundation

Processes and concepts of extraction have long been central to both material and metaphorical frameworks within visual culture. From the geological to the epistemological, extraction shapes our engagement with tools, narratives, and histories. This symposium seeks to examine the multifaceted dimensions of extraction as it manifests across visual mediums, storytelling traditions and interpretive practices.

We invite scholars, artists, practitioners, and interdisciplinary researchers to submit proposals for 20-minute presentations – in a format of the contributor’s choice – addressing extraction and visuality. The following themes are a non-exhaustive list examples. We welcome papers addressing these and any other topics relating to visuality and extraction.

1. Tools of Knowledge and Interpretation

• The metaphorical and literal lenses of extraction in visual culture (e.g., camera lenses, interpretive methods).
• The epistemological processes of "seeing as a skill" and the synthesis of knowledge systems.

2. Geological and Material Extraction

• Visual representations of geological elements, from strata to precious stones.
• The industrial, environmental, and geopolitical implications of material extraction: representations and visualisations.

3. Extractivism and the (De-)Colonial

• Visuality and the global entanglements of capitalist, colonialist, and extractive logic. Extractive and non-extractive visual practices and methodologies.

• Extractivism and the legacies of empire and postcolonialism.

4. Storytelling, Reading, and Interpretation

• Storytelling as a metaphor for extraction in visual narratives.
• The act of reading and interpreting as processes of extracting meaning and complexity.

5. Gaming, Play, and Virtual Spaces

• Gaming mechanics as metaphors for resource extraction and accumulation.
• Creative engagements with economies and continuities in virtual environments.

6. Environmental and Ethical Dimensions

• The visual culture of environmental depredation and recycling.
• Attentiveness to local contexts and the ethics of extraction practices.

7. Heritage, Embodiment, and Mining Legacies

• The embodied experiences of mining and their visual representation.
• Metaphorical explorations of light, illumination, and heritage.

This symposium welcomes diverse methodologies, including but not limited to, critical theory, artistic practices, and historical analysis. Contributions that explore new interdisciplinary or collaborative approaches are particularly encouraged.

Submission Guidelines:

• Abstracts should not exceed 300 words and must include the proposed title, author's name, institutional affiliation (if any), and a brief biography (max 150 words).
• Proposals for panels, workshops, or creative presentations are also welcome. Please include additional details about the format and expected outcomes.
• Submit your proposals to cvac@durham.ac.uk by 31 March 2025.

Contact Information:
For questions or additional information, please contact Jonathan Long (j.j.long@durham.ac.uk) or Ladan Cockshut (ladan.cockshut@durham.ac.uk).

Book Launch and round table discussion: 'Photography, Conflict Transformation, and Peacebuilding' (Bloomsbury, 2025)

• St John’s College, 3 South Bailey, Durham, DH1 3RJ
• 17:00 seminar and discussions; 18:00 drinks reception 

All welcome.  We look forward to you joining us on 5th March!

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