The "Knotted" video series served as a reflective exploration of my identity as an artist, researcher, and educator amidst a dynamically evolving social and cultural landscape series that embodies an autoethnographic, practice-led research approach. The aim is driven by understanding the intricate interplay between my South African Indian womanhood and the broader socio-cultural landscape. I navigate the complex intersections between the rational and emotional self, both influenced and filtered through the nuances of memory. Engaging in performance art practice provides a methodological foundation for unravelling insights into the construction of my narrative and subject formation. Working within the conceptual space between potential occurrences and impossibilities allows for the redefinition of my dual roles as an artist and researcher. The theoretical framework guiding this exploration draws inspiration from the Indian aesthetic theory of rasa and Csíkszentmihály concept of flow aiming to uncover the transformative potential inherent in performance art practice. The immersive process of "arting" connects embodied states during a performance, to what I term transcendental emotional moment (TEM). Thus, aligning the philosophy of performance in motion with the transformative potential of rasa contributing to the making of culture and well-being. This practice becomes a meditative journey facilitating the reforming and becoming of my emergent self. "Knotted" leaves traces in lived bodily interactions, captured in muscle memory and kinaesthetic contact, contributing to my identity formation and resilience. The series emphasizes the aesthetic versus anaesthetic embodied experience, revealing traces through movement in written records and lived encounters between bodies and art.

Authors:
Reshma Maharajh, University of Johannesburg, South Africa

About the Presenter(s)
Ms Reshma Maharajh is a University Associate Professor/Senior Lecturer at University of Johannesburg in South Africa

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