Paper Presentation:
Visual Culture debris and critique, Trans-Asia/Australia focus
2018 - 2019 saw the creation and propagation of new memes in global online discourse with the increasing use of digital modes of communication. Globally, new symbolic forms are generated through online participation and offer a multilayered cultural critique that at times can be difficult to interpret. Symbolic use of coded or visual metaphors are culturally specific. Are we able read or understand the messages that are being portrayed from cultures other than our own? New forms of communicating online indicate the loss and/or abridgement of written text and a preference for visual forms of communication to immediately reflect emotional states or beliefs. Some of these visual metaphors are agents for change and advocate for social movements. Others are political commentators reflecting stories of our time through clever, or not so clever assemblages of image and text. Within a global context fragmented readings and true cultural intent may remain trivial visual culture debris, lost in the increasing media noise of online portals. This paper will discuss memes; Chinese and Australian online culture by examining their ‘trans/visualcultural’ significance. Using a comparative approach, plausible transcultural readings of these memes will enable deeper understanding of their cultural significance. This new research will examine trans-Asian flows in Australia indicating perception and reading of visual online assemblages (memes). The exploration of how Australians respond the Chinese memes and reciprocally how Chinese Nationals respond to Australian memes. The methods used to enable this interpretation will utilize a synthesis of participant survey via an online forum that will employ aspects of digital ethnography. The responses from participants will then be used to facilitate cross/trans readings of visual cultural forms as Australians and the world enter what is said to be the 'Asian Century'.