Research Cluster
In Winter 2025, Dark Opacities Lab launched its first research cluster based on its first thematic project, “Nazar: A Theory of the Evil Eye.” We welcomed six participants primarily based at Concordia and in Montreal, including students, artists, organizers, writers, and community members.
This first Nazar research cluster is a small cohort to study, think, and work on Dark Opacities Lab’s bi-annual zines (produced twice a year). The cluster offers a semester option to work on the theme of Nazar, to read, converse, write and create in relation to the theme. In addition, cohort members who are particularly interested in helping produce a small-scale exhibition on this theme may choose to work with the research cluster for two or more semesters. The time commitment requires participants to meet in the lab every two weeks, and there are short readings to complete in preparation for meetings, requiring a 2-3 hour commitment per week.
Our Winter 2025 research cluster members include:
As an artist and writer, I am interested in how resistance against structures of incarceration and containment change the way that we see the world. In my research, I explore the politics of sight as they intersect with carceral geographies in order to analyze how the ways that images of land and space are viewed, archived, and shared can shape concepts of freedom, sovereignty, and subjecthood. From the camera to the gallery, imperialism, colonialism, and capitalism inform how art is made, distributed, and historicized. Drawing on action and writing from political movements, including prison abolitionist organizing, migrant justice, queer and trans liberation, and anti-colonial, land-based resistance, I focus on how we might see the world differently, beyond and against a dominant gaze. I use sculpture, printed matter, painting, video, and poetry to explore sites and strategies of resistance to carceral infrastructure including sabotage, blockades, camouflage, reclamation, and looking back.
Emma Haraké’s teaching, research, and creative practice move within a framework of public and critical pedagogy. Born and raised in Beirut and living in Tio’tia:ke/Montreal, Emma holds a master’s in art education from Concordia University and a BFA from the Lebanese University. Her work spans across different mediums and focuses on oral history, memory work, and the complexities of collaborative processes. She is currently working on her first graphic novel.
Dr. Prathna Lor is a poet, critic, and educator. Most recently, they were assistant professor of Global Anglophone and Postcolonial Literature (LTA) in the Department of English at Concordia University. Their debut poetry collection, Emanations (Wolsak & Wynn, 2022) was a finalist for the 2022 A. M. Klein Prize for Poetry and a 2023 Lambda Literary Award. Their critical and creative writing have appeared in Canadian Literature, Psychoanalysis & History, TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly, Jacket2, DIAGRAM, and C Magazine, among other places.
Emitees (Emi) Tajdari (she/her) is an undergraduate student in Art History at Concordia University, specializing in SWANA visual culture, historiography, and the politics of representation. She explores how art intersects with identity, power, and colonial legacies, drawing on Queer, Feminist, and Marxist methodologies. Her research focuses on the impact of Orientalism on Muslim representation and the role of art in reclaiming marginalized narratives. Beyond academia, she is drawn to curatorial work and collaborative projects that bridge theory and practice, positioning art as a tool for resistance, cultural preservation, and collective memory.
