Visual Silence: The Aesthetics of Loss and Remembrance in East-West Landscape Cinema and Photography

This presentation introduces the concept of "visual silence" as a framework for analyzing East-West landscape cinema, photography, and post-1968 cultural dynamics. It challenges Left-wing melancholia by reframing it as a representation of the loss of homelands, cultural belonging, and viable solidarities. Exploring Asian landscape art traditions tied to Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist philosophies, the study delves into a contemplative "blank space" aesthetic. Focusing on Japan's fûkeiron ("landscape theory") movement, it examines how radical filmmakers and photographers, exemplified by the film A.K.A. Serial Killer, employed visual silence to investigate urban landscapes under state power. Contextualizing fûkeiron's dialogue with French art and thought, the presentation argues that visual silence is a transformative technique rooted in older religious traditions, challenging prevailing cultural norms. It concludes by showcasing contemporary photographers Li Lang and Jungjin Lee, illustrating visual silence's enduring capacity to evoke, challenge, and reimagine narratives of loss, remembrance, place, and transformation.