Representing Post-colonialism through Visual Arts: From Bhabha to Kress and Van Leeuwen

Representing Post-colonialism through Visual Arts: From Bhabha to Kress and Van Leeuwen

This article expounds upon two different theoretical frameworks, post colonialism and semiotics, with the purpose of creating a bridge between the two. For the analysis of literary post-colonial verbal texts, Bhabha’s proposed notions work as proper and efficient tools. However, not all literary works are limited to a verbal text; they can contain a visual discourse as well. In addition, the graphological and pictorial representations on the cover of books are also involved in the process of reading even before the reader engages with the verbal text. Therefore, visual illustrations can be considered as a second medium for delivering the concept. Hence, a need for a tool that can assist Bhabha’s post-colonial notions be applicable on pictorial inclinations rises up. This article is a sematic theoretical contribution that tries to fill this gap through creating a link between Bhabha’s ideas (on the verbal level) with visual semiotics. For this aim, Kress and Van Leeuwen’s proposed grammar of visual design seems to be an appropriate resource to show how visual arts can be investigated as post-colonial discourse. This interdisciplinary study will discuss how semiotics and post-colonial theories could benefit from each other and work harmoniously when applied on both the verbal and visual texts with the help of a comparative literary criticism that paves the way for further all-inclusive analyses of discourse in literary works. This article is a theoretical contribution that strived to add to the realm of comparative literary criticism by linking visual arts to post colonialism.