Research Catalogue

This research explores the phenomenon of Cosplay as experienced by Cosplayers themselves through a subjective lens. A project that stems from specific personal attitudes and inclinations to the practice of Cosplay — コスプレ kosupure — in relation to japanese entertainment media. The focus of the analysis resides in individuals influenced to the point of bordering on obsession, surrounded by characters from works of Japanese animation, illustration and graphics — Anime, Manga and RPG — culminating in the practice of donating one’s body through the practice of interpretation, assimilation and appropriation. Consistencies and idiosyncrasies between assumptions and experience are addressed starting from Japanese imagery, cultivated by years of tactile and vivid experience of this practice as carried out in Italy. The impact and perceived impact of the journey facilitated a firsthand, lived experience through my month-long stay in Toshima, one of Tokyo’s twenty three special districts. The reiteration of this practice in the country accredited for the birth and export of Cosplay, put to test the skills and preconceptions developed over years of experience and virtual exploration. Analyzed the ideological presuppositions set forth by Luca Vanzella in Cosplay culture: fenomenologia dei costume players italiani, found within my personal experience in Italy, the same were used as a key to reading and interpreting the experience in Japan, analyzing points of contact and divergence. Through this paper I wish to document the vivid aspects of a research at a still embryonic state, without rushing to judgment. A vision that is not intended to be faithful to reality as a focused image, but rather as the perception of light imprinted in the first impact with the retina. It represents, in its essence, an investigation that reports testimonies and subjective experiences, exploring with individuals the value placed on their choice of character, the reasons for choosing to lend one’s body to such practice. The unambiguous presence of the self, versus, the assumptions of loss of identity and desire for escape in the link between Cosplayer, performance act and self-perception. Analyzing the relational dynamics between Cosplayers and those shared personas, with a focus on the figure of the otaku and the way it relates to this practice. This printed object consists of 2 main parts; the first visual and graphic and the second textual and theoretical. Bound together by the “japanese stab binding” technique, that has been appropriated in correlation to the practice of Cosplay. Becoming not only a physical link, but also a key conceptual and graphic element. Giving body and matter to the characters that make up the term Cosplay.

ES / EN Este artículo presenta la dimensión de mentoría creativa del Método LGP, una forma transdisciplinaria de soporte para artistas y profesionales multidisciplinarios que buscan integrar deseo, obra y proyecto vital. Este artículo fue escrito por L.C. en el marco del proceso performativo del método LGP. Algunas imágenes, mapas e intuiciones emergen del acompañamiento realizado con F.F., artista visual con background en medicina, cuya colaboración discreta y sensible nutrió el tejido emocional y estratégico del texto. A través de un acompañamiento performativo-emocional, el método ofrece herramientas para sostener procesos, tomar decisiones, y atravesar una nueva identidad sintética. This article introduces the creative mentorship dimension of the LGP Method —a transdisciplinary form of support for artists and multidisciplinary professionals seeking to integrate desire, artwork, and life projects. This article was written by L.C. within the performative process of the LGP method. Some images, maps, and insights emerge from the accompaniment shared with F.F., a visual artist with a medical background, whose discreet and sensitive collaboration nourished both the emotional and strategic layers of the text. Through performative-emotional guidance, the method offers tools to sustain processes, make decisions, and move through a new synthetic identity.

Voorlopige werktafel onderzoeksplan

Thesis of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2022 Master Photography & Society Welcome to the TROPICAL TRAUMA MISERY TOUR. I invite you to take this tour through aroofless theater called media, the stage representing the farce and media opportunism ofthe Brazilian president and far-right populist, Jair Messias Bolsonaro—The Myth.In 2018, Bolsonaro was stabbed during a presidential rally campaign. Against a backdrop ofpolarization, micro-narratives, and misinformation,The Mythstarred in an online politicalcampaign where he had complete control over his narrative and self-presentation. This tourinvestigates how the ambiguity of the stabbing event exposes the network propaganda in theBrazilian political game.Through a speculative documentary photography practice, this piece overcomes the politicalillusions and dissemination of nonprogressive values of digital populists. The fictionalizationof the real is a form of resistance towards such ideological shams and manipulations. Itdevolves into a meta-play, a farce within a farce.

Thesis of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2022 Master Photography & Society The "Trauma of Looking: Readings and Counter-readings of the representation of femicides in theGreek mainstream media" is a work that aims to decode the narrative strategies used by the Greekmainstream media to report sensitive topics related to gender inequalities and gender-basedviolence. In this work I explore the tropes and the effects of media cannibalism, a term which I havecoined and it will be explained further in the text, through the lens of intimate femicides - aphenomenon which has recently entered the wider public discourse in Greece. There is a need frommainstream media to commercialize such crimes and exploit personal dramas. They are treatingreal-life stories as a spectacle, as another true-crime series ready to be consumed by the audience.This globalized "life-as-spectacle" approach, which goes beyond Greece, transmutes our collectivemoral principles into a new culture where violence is always legitimized and thus is made acceptablein society.

Research Paper of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2023 MA Interior Architecture (Inside) Public space is defined as “ an area or place that is open and accessible to all people, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age, or socio-economic level. These are public gathering spaces such as plazas, squares and parks”. Public spaces that bring together a great diversity of people are therefore designed as “zero friction” spaces, but when in use, people will experience friction. This research paper focuses on how one constructs territories within the public realm and how this can both foster participation for those who can identify themselves with the activities within the territory and others who do not -to depart from a space. This creates fear tendencies against the unknown and in order to maintain a certain behavioral control, objects are being modified, removed and designed to prevent certain behaviors and user groups from territorializing certain spaces from happening. One territorial action is found in the action of skateboarding. Skateboarders do not only foresee opportunities for action through the use of affordances within the public realm, but also territorialize the space through extractions, additions, and public interactions for their action to be possible. Skateboarding might be considered an action that excludes certain user groups from using the public space if territorialized by the skating community. Yet, on the contrary, skateboarders see opportunities for action within the public realm through affordances that might not be obvious to the naked eye and therefore creates another level of interaction and encounters which may alter the behavioral corollary within the space. If skateboarders see the user value of public space through affordances and claim elements within the space through action, does their territorialization of the space actually negatively impact the space? Or do they introduce a new user value of the space that furthers behavioral actions and introduces new encounters? Therefore, this research paper reflects on how a skateboarder's perspective of the public realm criticizes how we use space and reveal new design potentials for a multifunctional public space.