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Varieties of Cooperation pp 83–97Cite as

Intimate Pictures

Mediating Absence and Presence in Senegalese Transnational Relationships

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Part of the book series: Medien der Kooperation – Media of Cooperation ((MEKOO))

Abstract

This contribution explores how wedding images are circulated and appropriated by Senegalese migrants and their families and friends in Senegal. Tracing how absences are ‘cooperatively’ acknowledged and presences constructed by means of montage and collage in wedding albums and videos demonstrates the fundamental significance of images—and sometimes their absence—during processes of migration and in everyday life in translocal settings. The images are essential for establishing and maintaining transnational social relationships and bring together local and global image practices to show the intimate relationships of (transnational) couples, family members and friends taking part in the celebrations. In relating the practices of presence and absence during ritual practices and transnational social relationships to discussions on (mediated) co-presence, the contribution shows how local notions of absence and presence are strongly linked to wider configurations of love, care and responsibility, and do not always relate to the ideal of being physically present. Focusing on transnational sibling relationships and transnational marriage it demonstrates, based on ethnographic research carried out in Berlin and Dakar, how images of absent people travel with people, become digital and mobile, and create gendered spaces of mobility and immobility.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    This article is based on ethnographic research carried out in Berlin (8 months) and Dakar (6 months) for a PhD project on social media practices and transnational social relationships between Germany and Senegal. I would like to thank the German Research Foundation for their generous support of the Research Training Group “Locating Media” at the University of Siegen and the project “Media Related Configurations of Transnational Social Spaces between Africa and Europe” at the University of Cologne. My warmest thanks go to the participants in my research and the members of “Locating Media”, the SFB “Media of Cooperation” and the editors of this volume who gave feedback on various drafts of this contribution.

  2. 2.

    Some of the ethnographic descriptions and related thoughts have already been published in connection with discussions on the videography of transnational wedding videos (Pfeifer, 2021) and personal archives of transnational migration (Pfeifer & Neumann, 2021).

  3. 3.

    According to the Federal Office of Statistics, there are roughly 4000 registered Senegalese nationals residing in Germany (Statistisches Bundesamt, 2015, p. 148), with about 400 of them living in Berlin (Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg, 2017). These numbers do not include naturalised, non-registered or so called ‘irregular’ migrants.

  4. 4.

    For details on the meaning of lavish wedding ceremonies in Senegal see Buggenhagen (2011, 2012). For a perspective on moderate and invisible wedding ceremonies in Dakar see Hann (2013).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GRK „anschließen-ausschließen—Cultural Dynamics Beyond Globalized Networks“, Global South Studies Centre (GSSC), University of Cologne, Köln, Germany

    Simone Pfeifer

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  1. Simone Pfeifer
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Correspondence to Simone Pfeifer .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. SFB Medien der Kooperation, Universität Siegen, Siegen, Germany

    Clemens Eisenmann

  2. Arbeitsbereich Erwerbslosigkeit und Teilhabe, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung, Nürnberg, Germany

    Kathrin Englert

  3. Universität Siegen, Siegen, Germany

    Cornelius Schubert

  4. Locating Media, Universität Siegen, Siegen, Germany

    Ehler Voss

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Pfeifer, S. (2023). Intimate Pictures. In: Eisenmann, C., Englert, K., Schubert, C., Voss, E. (eds) Varieties of Cooperation. Medien der Kooperation – Media of Cooperation. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-39037-2_5

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