Towards a visual methodology in researchcreation: the example of SORODAS

Abstract

This text presents a methodology in operation at the Department of Hypermedia Communication at Savoie Mont Blanc University, France, which for many years has been based on close collaboration between the Information/Communication Sciences and Art Sciences, in order to enable the production of innovative devices in research-creation of digital arts, namely devices built in hypermedia. A testimony of this strategy is Carole Brandon’s work named SORODAS, planned for the IDÉFI-CréaTIC Atelier-Laboratoire [S] Langue [S] & Patrimoine [S], which would be relocated to the Mayotte Islands in the Indian Ocean in 2018. Even if the trip by the project team was finally canceled two days before departure, due to events and demonstrations occurred in the island. This hypermedia and artistic device was accompanied by a long interdisciplinary preliminary work, research in visual anthropology and project methodology conducted jointly by Ghislaine Chabert and Carole Brandon team. With the collaboration of Digital Creation Master students, this territory of Mayotte, difficult to circumscribe due to its geographical remoteness and tumultuous past, could not be decently approached without several precautions taken in the meantime. The present text includes a sample of the results obtained, presented partially in a writing style inspired by the language of social networks and experienced in the project. For example, the authors write “®view” instead of “review” to underline the duality of the “(re)vision” process in time. Or sometimes they replace simple parentheses ( ) with (-! !-), that is, they use an emoji notation, formed by ideograms and smylies, very common in cyberspace and digital social networks.