This is the story of a place that first can
stay unnoticed. Not far from a busy crossroad and Tallinn University, lies a
different kind of place with its own rhythm and visage. One probably finds it
by accident when looking for a shortcut or when discovering the industrial seaside
area. It is a liminal zone, a pause in mobility for truck drivers and their
trucks, who are waiting for a new load and/or the ferry to Scandinavia. They
may also be taking a rest before returning to their hometowns all over Europe.
At first, the area feels like a distant
“non-place” from the outside world, yet it actually is an open space with a
street in the middle. The place has practically no infrastructure; one stands
there surrounded by an asphalt parking lot, trucks and wind from the sea. The
colour spectrum consisting of greyish tones brings forth a sense of masculinity
and a rough atmosphere lacking “life”. In closer inspection, you start noticing
that the truck drivers are the ones who bring with them lighter tones. This is
exemplified by everyday corporeal activities that a passer-by can observe:
either washing their teeth or taking a leak by their truck or having a smoke
with a fellow truck driver. The place for them stays in between the sphere of
the public and the private.
...The field experience started in a freezing
early morning when we had our first encounter with the truck drivers. The “zone”
was waking up: somewhere near sounded the ferry signal. Little curtains in
truck windows were opening one by one and some sleepy faces were stepping out
for a morning toilet right there next to their truck. Somebody put their head
out from the window and cleaned their teeth while staying in the cabin. Others
were washing their faces with the water from the container attached under the
cargo compartment. The private body treatments were happening in this
semi-public space.
Somebody
was making his morning coffee. After less than one hour, the ferry was about to
depart so the site was getting more and more bustling. In this morning rush the
truck drivers were not interested in having a chat, so the “zone” remained
somewhat closed to us. We rather felt we are surrounded by an unwelcoming
masculine environment. It was a time when the hierarchy caused by the truckers
sitting up in their cabins and us being down on the parking lot, was both
physically and emotionally uncomfortable. This distanced setting gained from
the fact that the worlds of some cabins were behind closed curtains. Although
we got a sense of the place and its specific rhythm, it seemed getting into a
meaningful contact with the drivers would be difficult...
...A completely opposite experience happened in
a sunny Sunday afternoon. We made a short stroll around the area, which, at
first, seemed to be as deserted as ever. What first caught our attention was a
cabin window full of stuffed animals and a jolly middle aged man sitting behind
them. He cheerfully waved at us but as he was eating, we decided not to bother
him with questions. We continued walking and soon noticed a curious guy
inviting us closer. It was then when magic happened. We started chatting with
the friendly Turkish man who was eager to communicate and show his kindness.
Meanwhile, another truck driver and obviously the friend of the first man,
appeared behind the truck. Already some minutes later we had followed them to
the other side of the trucks, where a temporary Turkish “restaurant” (as they
called it) was created. They opened two small shutters from each of the trucks
that from then on functioned as little tables. We were offered coffee that we
kindly accepted as well as we received some gifts, the roasted sunflower seeds
to be exact. Drivers even let us in to their truck cabins to have a look at and
to document their “homes”. The next hour was spent talking about their long
experiences as truck drivers – both of them had driven the trucks over 30 years
–, about their families and the time they have spent in Tallinn and other
cities waiting for loads or ships. This conversation proved to be very
informative even though the communication was compiled by using simple
expressions from English and German as well as body language. Our successful
field experience was later completed by another conversation with the man from
the beginning of the stroll. When walking back to where we started, this Lithuanian
man approached us with the aim to chat. We had another pleasant conversation
about his work and family. The “secret” of the stuffed animals was solved – it appeared
that every time the man goes on the road, his little daughter presents him with
one of her toys to make him feel not so lonely...
This project was made as a final assignment for the anthropological
methods course in the autumn 2013. In order to take a glimpse of what lies
outside from the textual realm, we decided to experiment with a different
method and put the visual in the spotlight. We chose the field of photos,
firstly, as we both have a background in photography. Secondly, in this case,
we considered the photographic approach to the field as the most applicable
because of its visual qualities and the sense of space that sound recordings,
for example, could not forward. We excluded the film as a method due to lack of
resources.
In this project, the chosen method is not separated from the content and
analysis of the research; rather it evokes meaningful links between all the
parties. When thinking about the relationship of the visual material to the
text, we dwell from Pink's “…premise that the purpose of analysis is not to
translate “visual evidence” into verbal knowledge, but to explore the
relationship between visual and other (including verbal) knowledge.” (Pink
2001: 96). Even more, we want to demonstrate with the current project that
visual knowledge (in our case photos) can be the primary form of knowledge in ethnography.
Thus departing from the belief that the visual can only be an illustration or a
supportive material to the text, we want the photos themselves to tell the
story. By presenting only the photos, we leave the viewer the possibility to
interpret the visual series himself/herself and create his/her own narratives
in relation to his/her personal experience and knowledge. Although if the
viewer wants, he/she can turn to the current explanatory text to either confirm
his/her impressions or get a new insight to the story.
Nevertheless, our premise does not assume that the visual method holds
some greater truth value than the textual one, or for that matter, the film,
sound recording etc. It is important to stress that we do not look for an
objective “truth” from our research. Rather, we concur with Susan Sontag, who
has claimed: “It is always the image that someone chose; to photograph is to
frame, and to frame is to exclude.” (Sontag 2003:37). Furthermore, it is
important to emphasise that the subjective narrativization begins already
before entering the field and starting to choose, frame and exclude the potential
material. It continues throughout the analysis period of the specific project
and, in some form, spans through one`s conscious life. So what one comes across is not only a “…gaze
interpreting a subjective visual narrative,” (Pink 2001:99) but a multi-layered
subjectivity that transcends the boundaries of the specific project.
We consider the different aspects of agency also rather significant in
the context and development of our project.
Firstly, entering the field as two young women influenced the access and
the communication we had with the truck drivers. Considering the masculine environment,
we felt that due to our gender, it was easy to draw attention and from there on,
to start talking with the informants. For example, the two Turkish men hosted
us kindly in their mobile “Turkish restaurant” and the time spent there was
warm. Secondly, we should not underestimate the agency of the camera that
surely adds additional layers to how we were perceived by the truck drivers.
The visible tool that we carried with us probably brought along a certain
“image” or idea for them of who we are and what is our agenda. For instance,
when we were walking and wearing two semi-professional cameras, we noticed a
truck with the stuffed animals on the front panel and a man sitting inside the
truck. What followed was the mutual non-verbal interaction in what he sensed
our wish to photograph him in his setting. Obviously the fact that we were
wearing noticeable cameras, made us look credible in his eyes. A sign of that
was him laughing and waving to us. But it is also important to keep in mind
that not only the technical knowledge and the use of camera on the field, is
what determines the collected material. Or in other words, camera's limitations
are essentially the limitations of the user of the camera (Collier, Collier
1986:44). This means that both the knowledge of the technology as well as our
personal experience, aesthetics and values behind this knowledge, matter.
Besides all that, we also considered other aspects that influenced our
interaction with the informants, such as weather, time of the day we went there
and how many trucks were in the parking lot at that moment. Also the age of the
truck drivers turned out to be influential because the communication we made
was mainly with older men. Considering our observations, younger drivers spend
more time in their cabins watching films from their computers, while older ones
enjoy more the social interaction. Thus the stopover that is a big part of
their work is spent differently regarding the age.
But actually we acknowledged that our experience in doing visual
ethnography continued also after the field. We were confronted with the
following activities in the process of concluding the “truckography”: analysing
the content and the aesthetics of the photos, considering if and how different
material from the field work together and forming two different photographic
narratives.
We experimented with different ways how to compile the sequences. In the
“A Turkish restaurant” series our aim was to present the natural flow of
activities as it happened in the field and to forward the story with a clear
chronological narrative. But in the “A place unlocked” series, our intention
was to present the sense of place. We compiled this sequence, combining
different photos, keeping in mind that the perception of that place developed
over various visits. While the beginning of the series forwards a more general
and distant impressions, then gradually the curtains “unveil” the people behind
them and the place acquires a more personal feeling. Similarly to the general
ethnographic research where the plurality of material complicates the building
of the conceptual frame, it was somewhat complicated to construct the flow of
this certain story due to the big amount of visual data. But in the same time,
the more data you have, the more representative the project becomes as we hope
is the case for this research.
It is also important to mention the collaborative nature of this
project. It was interesting to observe each other and discuss how our points of
views overlap. Mostly we visited the field together and took photos
concurrently. In the final process of the work we co-wrote the text, compiled
the blog and processed the photos. Thus the project is a collective effort – this
adds value to the whole research. To further the idea of collaboration or
reciprocity, we found the photo blog as a reasonable format for the truckography.
The blog acts as an accessible medium for a larger audience and gives the
possibility of feedback. In a sense, it also assures a longer life-span for the
project.
The project`s idea was to show if and how this somewhat vague and
lifeless space interacts with the truck drivers who come and bring along their
own micro worlds in the form of trucks. The truck cabins are arranged and decorated
according to their needs and tastes. Furthermore, as the kitchen section from
the “A Turkish restaurant” series illustrates, the space they use is not
limited to their cabins but extended all around the truck and even further.
Activities, such as washing hands or teeth, pissing, preparing food, create
meaning and give value to the place. Therefore, this seemingly life-less
“non-place” becomes actually a place where every truck driver designs his
surroundings and uses it according to his individual needs and desires, even if
it is just for a few hours. In this way, we object to Augé's concept of non-place which is a space that lacks perhaps humanity,
coherence and associations. According to him, non-place is the environment
where we pass growing amounts of time, for example, airports, hotels,
supermarkets, spending time in front of the television or computer (Augé 1995:
77-79). Considering this, also the parking lot where our truckography took place, could be
perceived as a non-place but as it comes out from our research this place is
packed with meaningful activities and social interactions. We claim that Augé's treatment does
not really consider the individual experience but he rather gives a
generalizing view.
We believe that increasing the use of visual methods marks the way
towards an approach that rethinks the importance of logocentric ethnography and
brings into focus the sense-based knowledge and modes of representation
(Grimshaw and Ravetz 2005:6). Deriving from this, we believe that the
photographic format fit the specific project and even gave it an extra visual
value. Although we decided to give a textual comment to the project, we
consider the visual material as successfully forwarding the stories on its own.
We will definitely consider the photographic approach as a potential future
research method.
Authors: Liis Tuulberg and Madara Bunkše
Authors: Liis Tuulberg and Madara Bunkše
Reference:
Augé, Marc. 1995. Non-places. Introduction to an Anthropology of
Supermodernity. London and New York: Verso
Collier, John and Collier, Malcolm. 1986. Visual Anthropology:
Photography as a Research Method. New Mexico: University of New Mexico
Grimshaw, Anna, Ravetz, Amanda. 2005. Visualizing Anthropology.
Bristol: Intellect Ltd.
Pink, Sarah. 2001. Doing Visual Ethnography: Images, Media and
Representation in Research. London: SAGE Publications Ltd
Sontag, Susan. 2003. Regarding the Pain of Others. New York:
Picador
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