The Uncanny City and the Immanence of Crisis: An Arts-Informed Ethnography

The Uncanny is a concept famously elaborated by Freud, referring to the experience of unease at suddenly recognising a familiar but unhomely presence in a homely scene, a brief slippage into a more disturbing reality. This paper serves as an art-informed ethnography, exploring the uncanny experience of visiting Florence, a Theme Park City, during a time of international crisis. Drawing on Gale’s concept of ‘affective presencing,’ I develop a series of vignettes accompanied by paintings and sketches, allowing a dialogue to emerge between the city, my co-authors, past residents of Florence, food, songs, film, with a brief counterpoint visit to Berlin. What comes into being is a commentary on horror and beauty, a response that can allow for the recognition of both the dread of what might (be)coming and a resistant commitment to colour, art and belonging.