Mobgraphy as a trace of performance: wandering, breath, and image in the in-between

Abstract

This visual essay proposes an understanding of mobgraphy as a performative trace—that is, a writing of the sensible that unfolds between the body, movement, and the mobile device. Drawing on poetic experiences conducted in landscapes of central Rio Grande do Sul, the study investigates the body-device as a perceptual and respiratory extension, capable of generating images that are traces of movement and breath. The study draws on Certeau (2008), Careri (2002), and Flusser (1985), articulating wandering and gesture as practices of spatial invention. In dialogue with Merleau-Ponty (1999), Haraway (2016), and Bhabha (1998), the in-between-place is understood as a vibrating field, where the artist narrates the world through walking and breathing. Based on this poetics of air and light, the breath of soap bubbles is understood here as an ephemeral intervention and an act of presence—a respiratory gesture that maps the instant and dissolves it. The performative image emerges in this interval, between touch and wind, acting as a trace of breath, as well as a kinetic aesthetic of wandering.