I'm a visual anthropologist and an artist and I'm interested in creatively bringing those two fields together...
I originally trained as an artist and continue to work in painting, drawing, photography, video, and sound. During my earlier role as Photographic Officer at the Royal Anthropological Institute in London I spent time returning collections of 19th century anthropological photographs to their original communities in Sikkim, Himalayas; New Mexico, USA; and the Solomon Islands, South Pacific. I have curated exhibitions – such as The Impossible Science of Being at the Photographer’s Gallery in 1995 – and organised conferences - Beyond Text? Synaesthetic and Sensory Practices in Anthropology, University of Manchester 2007.
I teach visual anthropology – both theoretical and practice-based modules – and am concerned with helping students explore a really wide range of creative possibilities for using audiovisual media within an anthropological framework, and in collaborating with them as they develop their own working practices.
Academic qualifications
PhD Social Anthropology, University College London 2002
I am interested in the practical and theoretical connections between anthropology and contemporary art.
To explore these overlaps I have collaborated and worked with artists – such as Dave Lewis (http://www.focaalblog.com/2015/08/03/dave-lewis-field-work/ ) – initiated conferences - such as Fieldworks: dialogues between art and anthropology, Tate Modern, London, 2003;– and published co-edited volumes – Contemporary Art and Anthropology (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Contemporary-Art-Anthropology-Arnd-Schneider/dp/1845201035 ); Anthropology and Art Practice (https://www.bloomsburycollections.com/book/anthropology-and-art-practice/); Between Art and Anthropology (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Between-Anthropology-Contemporary-Ethnographic-Practice/dp/1847885004 )
I am currently working on completing a book based on my recent three-year Leverhulme research fellowship – A Life More Photographic (looking at everyday photographic practices in the UK) - as well as continuing a project on artificial glaciers and environment, and providing ‘internet-in-a-box’ to communities in Ladakh, northern India.
In terms of audiovisual work I continue to experiment with the possibilities of using digital video, sound, drawing, animation, and photography within anthropology.
Featured publications
2020:
The New Art of Ethnographic Filmmaking Book Section - Phillip Vannini, ed. The Routledge International Handbook of Ethnographic Film and Video. Routledge, pp. 49-60.
Wright, Chris. 2020. The New Art of Ethnographic Filmmaking. In: Phillip Vannini, ed. The Routledge International Handbook of Ethnographic Film and Video. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 49-60. ISBN 9780367185824
Wright, Chris. 2018. Photo-Ethnography. In: Hilary Callan, ed. International Encyclopaedia of Anthropology. London: Wiley. ISBN 9781118924396
Cox, Rupert; Irving, Andrew and Wright, Chris. 2016. Introduction: the sense of the senses. In: Rupert Cox; Andrew Irving and Chris Wright, eds. Beyond text?: Critical practices and sensory anthropology. Manchester: Manchester University Press, pp. 1-19. ISBN 9780719085055
Wright, Chris and Cox, Rupert. 2012. Blurred Visions: Reflecting Visual Anthropology. In: Richard Fardon; Olivia Harris; Trevor HJ Marchand; Mark Nuttall; Cris Shore; Veronica Strang and Richard A Wilson, eds. The SAGE Handbook of Social Anthropology. SAGE Publications. ISBN 9781446201077