Launch of the book Affective Images: Visual Politics of Wounded Bodies in Timor-Leste, by Marcelle Trote Martins

IRI invites you to the book launch of “Affective Imageries: Visual Politics of Wounded Bodies in Timor-Leste,” by Marcelle Trote Martins (Manchester University, United Kingdom).

At a time when visual media—from viral war photographs to protest art—play a central role in how conflicts are understood and experienced around the world, the book by Marcelle Trote, a former IRI undergraduate and master’s student, “Affective Imageries: Visual Politics of Wounded Bodies in Timor-Leste,” proposes a reflection on what images do, not just what they show. Drawing on the case of Timor-Leste, the book explores how visual representations mobilize emotions, shape memories, and influence which sufferings are recognized or ignored on the international stage. The work, resulting from the author’s doctoral thesis, explores the political power of images in constructing narratives about violence, justice, and reparations and engages with important contemporary debates on war photography, humanitarianism, resistance, and the ethics of the gaze.