Research project Documentary Surrealism

This project investigates the intersection of surrealism and documentary across media and art forms. It argues that documentary strategies are at the core of surrealism’s activities, and that surrealists have explored the unconscious and their physical surroundings in equal measure. Tracing a documentary legacy in surrealism, the project not only contributes to the burgeoning field of surrealism studies, but also to the history and theory of the documentary. The project examines a wide range of artworks, films, and writings, as well as surrealist journals, exhibitions, and archives, both historic and recent. Documentary Surrealism elaborates four concepts of relevance for documentary theory overall: spectral indexicality, machinic interiority, nature’s unconscious, and speculative objectivity. These concepts also indicate the continued relevance of surrealist practice and theory for questions concerning nature, subjectivity, and the truth claims of lens-based images.