Artful Interpretation: New Book Offers Insight On Artist Agency During Colonial Times

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) The Peninsula

Doha, Qatar: At a Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q) book Talk moderated by Dr. Neelima Jeychandran, an assistant professor in Art History at VCUarts Qatar, GU-Q Doctoral Fellow Dale Luis Menezes shared how he made archives relevant to today in his groundbreaking co-edited volume Memories, Archived: Contemporary Views from South Asia.

The book–co-edited with Curator Leandré D'Souza, and Susana Bastos Mateus, University of Lisbon, who joined Menezes on the panel-explores a collection of Goan watercolors produced throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, curated for an exhibition at Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts titled“ArQhive: Early-Modern-Contemporary Vision.”

Memories, Archived brings to life the untold stories of local artists who depicted the colonial architecture and agricultural commodities of their lands for the Portuguese through reinterpretations by local artists today.“It was not about treating archives as static relics but about bringing them alive through collaboration with contemporary artists, allowing us to create new narratives that resonate with the present,” recalled Menezes.

The entire exhibit grew out of a lecture given by Menezes at Sunaparanta Goa in 2022, where he shared the illustrations, and suggested they were produced by local artists in Goa with their own agency and contributions to early modern knowledge networks. The talk inspired D'Souza to suggest an exhibit of the works side-by-side with artist interpretations.“He used the term 'co-production' which offered deeper insights into the kinds of relationships which may have been negotiated to make these documents,” she said.

Commenting on the book, which is itself an archive of essays, pictures, margin notes and artists interviews, Dr. Jeychandran praised it as“fantastically created.” She also highlighted the way Menezes' opening essay shed light on visual materials in archives as an overlooked area of study“It was a breath of fresh air,” she said, adding:“for art historians, they are not arty enough, and for historians they are not historical enough...I'm so glad you began with the art as a starting point.”

The experience of developing the exhibition and the book enriched Menezes' understanding of the importance of engaging in contemporary dialogue to better understand historical narratives. As a Georgetown University doctoral student teaching and completing his research in Doha, Menezes highlighted how his doctoral research about communities of specialised labourers in the western Indian Ocean from 1500 to 1800 has been enriched by discussions about South Asian and Indian Ocean history with students from the region studying at the Qatar campus.

Combined with the dynamic intellectual environment and support from GU-Q faculty and staff, Menezes has made great strides in just six months:“Nearly half of my research has been written here,” he said, adding:“Being in Qatar during this crucial phase of my academic journey has been invaluable.”

Doha's distinct geographical location was also an advantage for the historian, offering access to archival materials and expert voices from across the region that continue to impact global politics today.

“Qatar's deep ties to the Indian Ocean world provide a unique vantage point to explore interconnected histories, which are at the heart of my research,” he reflected, pointing out that he benefited from GU-Q's Indian Ocean World Working group and cross-campus intellectual exchange prior to moving to Qatar for the year to take up his fellowship.

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