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Abstract
This article explores portrait images, wedding albums and Facebook images as personal migrant archives. Examining the particular temporalities and the analog–digital materialities of the images, we unfold their significance for the construction of transnational sociality among Senegalese in Berlin and Dakar, from the perspective of women. By addressing distinct audiences the archives of migration are purposefully made (in)visible by their owners, creating gendered and generational “intimate publics.” Foregrounding the notion of the active personal migrant archive, we see the archive as a resource for aspiration and communication among socially close yet geographically distant persons.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We are infinitely grateful to those who have participated in our research, especially in allowing us to use their images and stories in our work. Additionally we wish to thank the editors of this volume and the two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions. Pip Hare we thank too for her valuable suggestions and language support.
Notes
1 The ethnographic research in Berlin (8 months), Dakar (6 months), and online between 2011 and 2014 was conducted as part of a Ph.D. project on social media practices and transnational social relationships between Germany and Senegal (Pfeifer Citation2020). The artistic research centered on a four-month fellowship in Dakar during 2011–12. At the time of that research Facebook was a preferred way of social networking as it offered a free mobile data plan for certain carriers. Messenger services like WhatsApp were not yet widely used during the research period.
2 According to the Federal Office of Statistics approximately 4,000 registered people with Senegalese nationality reside in Germany (Statistisches Bundesamt Citation[2014] 2015, 148), of whom about 400 live in Berlin (Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg Citation2017). These numbers do not include “naturalization,” non-registered or so-called “irregular” migrants.
3 The outfit usually consists of a pagne (wrapper) and a fitted top. This attire is often referred to as a traditional Senegalese dress but it evolved during the 1930s, partially influenced by European fashion (Rabine Citation2002). The fabric for these dresses (French: basin riche) is often imported damask that many women in Dakar can only rarely afford (Heath Citation1992, 21).
4 The term sañse denotes the skill to dress exceptionally beautifully and in well-fitting clothes (Mustafa Citation2002, 175). According to some authors the Wolof term sañse comes from the French verb changer, referring to the changing of clothing during family ceremonies (Scheld Citation2003, 125).
5 Depending on social status and economic means, skin-lightening creams (xeesal in Wolof) are widely used by women in Dakar, despite their severe health implications and the damage they can cause to the skin (Neveu Kringelbach Citation2013, 87); on the meaning of “skin” in Senegal see also Meyer (Citation2011, 111); on the politicization of “skin bleaching” see Buckley (Citation2013, 295 ff.).
6 Translation is the authors’ own.
7 nguenT BI is a variation of the spelling of the Wolof ngente bi and is used to indicate the lavish celebrations for the naming of a newborn child. In contrast, when no big event (xew) takes place, the naming ceremony is called tuddu (Hann Citation2013, 103).
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Notes on contributors
Simone Pfeifer
Simone Pfeifer is a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Anthropology and African Studies of the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. Her work explores social and visual media practices, migration and mobility, with a focus on transnational social relationships between Senegal and Germany, and Muslim everyday life in relation to German-speaking social media. E-mail: [email protected]
Ulf Neumann
Ulf Neumann is an artist and designer based in Cologne. His work focuses on the materiality and mobility of spaces in architecture. Next to photography and collages he also works with cardboard and concrete. His work has been shown internationally in galleries, and his interior design work is distributed online. Website: http://www.ulf-neumann.com