The War In-Between: Indexing a Visual Culture of Survival

The book explores the ambiguities and contradictions that disrupt the assumed boundaries of battle zones, focusing on visual depictions of banal, routine, or inscrutable aspects of militarized violence. It introduces three interrelated concepts to frame its attempt to "stay" in the moment of looking at these visual cultures of survival: the war in-between, indexicality, and asymptotic analysis. The capaciousness of survival reveals that there is more to feel and engage in war images than just mangled bodies, collapsing buildings, and industrialized death.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 07 May 2024
Publisher: Fordham University Press

Against the backdrop of the profound suffering that unfolds amidst more spectacular injuries and deaths, The War In-Between delves into the complexities and paradoxes that disrupt the perceived boundaries of battle zones. Spaces of the in-between, while less visible than traditional battlefields, are nonetheless broader and more pervasive, as struggles for survival arise from the same underlying conditions of structural violence. Visual artifacts, including photographs, videos, data visualizations, fabric art, and craft projects, provide diverse perspectives on the quotidian impacts of militarism, capturing both the banality of everyday violence for non-combatants and the daily challenges faced by soldiers living with physical and emotional trauma.

Three interrelated concepts serve as the framework for the book's exploration of visual cultures of survival. Firstly, the concept of the war in-between encapsulates those transitional spaces within war where violence and survival coexist side by side. Secondly, the book expands the notion of indexicality to consider how images of the in-between rely on a range of indexical traces to generate alternative visualities about survival and endurance. Thirdly, the book introduces an asymptotic analysis to examine the value in approaching the diverse experiences that comprise the war in-between, even as the horizon line of experience remains perpetually out of reach.

By delving into the capaciousness of survival, The War In-Between reveals that there is more to feel and engage with in war images than mere mangled bodies, collapsing buildings, and industrialized death. It prompts us to consider the nuanced ways in which conflict shapes individuals, communities, and societies, and to recognize the resilience and humanity that persist amidst the most dire circumstances. Through its meticulous analysis of visual artifacts and its thoughtful exploration of the in-between, The War In-Between offers a profound testament to the power of visual representation in shaping our understanding of war and its enduring impact on human lives.

Weight: 553g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781531507220