“Whenever someone who knows you disappears, you lose one version of yourself. Yourself as you were seen, as you were judged to be. Lover or enemy, mother or friend, those who know us construct us, and their several knowings slant the different facets of our characters like diamond-cutter’s tools. Each such loss is a step leading to the grave, where all versions blend and end.” (Salman Rushdie, The Ground Beneath Her Feet)

https://issuu.com/aikuiye/docs/final

The theme of loss is a central focus of the ARIAS network, with several written responses exploring the ways in which loss intersects with art research practices. The Estuaries: Ways of Knowing theme, which has been a focus for ARIAS since 2018, seeks to understand the concept of art-knowledge and how it is manifested in various forms. Through events such as the Art-Knowledge and Artists and Archivists series, as well as the Shadow of Knowledge symposium and the Uncertain Archives event, ARIAS has sought to delve into the complexities of art-knowledge and explore new ways of understanding it. In 2021, ARIAS intern Pia Jacques produced a Zine publication asking crucial questions about different ways of knowing, while designer Aishwarya Kumar has spent the past six months exploring the theme of loss in art-research practices through the creation of a Zine publication.