On April 8, 2025, CONVERGENCE Doctoral Researcher Suman Ghosh presented his project “Beyond the Horizon: Reimagining Spatial Narratives Through Verticality and Resistance” at the Symposium on Imagination, held at Tampere University.
In his presentation, Ghosh explored how vertical perspectives, often associated with surveillance, can be reimagined as tools for resistance and immersive storytelling. “I wanted to examine how verticality, rather than simply reproducing power dynamics, could serve as a method for reclaiming and re-narrating contested spaces,” he explained.
Drawing on Michel Foucault’s notion that “where there is power, there is also resistance,” Ghosh positions surveillance aesthetics not as a threat to be avoided, but as something that can be creatively subverted. “My research reconstructs the Anti-CAA protest site at Shaheen Bagh, India, in a Virtual Reality environment—transforming the act of passive observation into one of embodied participation,” he shared.
By using counter-mapping practices, Ghosh invites users to experience these spaces as “living, sensory-rich archives.” Through first-person navigation, the VR experience becomes a platform for critical engagement with spaces shaped by control and observation. “This is about co-creating alternative spatial imaginaries—spaces where memory, resistance, and imagination intersect,” he added.
Ghosh describes his approach as one that “embraces imagination as method—blending resistance, memory, and digital artefacts into a phenomenological journey toward irreal futures.” His broader aim is to challenge dominant narratives and offer new ways of engaging with the politics of place.
The Symposium, held in Tampere University’s Linna Building, brought together a diverse group of artists, scholars, and researchers to explore how imagination can transcend disciplinary boundaries and open up new modes of thinking. “Presenting in this interdisciplinary setting was incredibly enriching,” Ghosh reflected. “It helped me refine my ideas and deepened my commitment to using artistic practice as a vehicle for collective memory and transformative spatial storytelling.” Ghosh expressed gratitude to the event organizers and fellow participants.