Law in Context is published in Open Access by La Trobe Law School in agreement with Open Journal Systems. Law in Context publishes three issues per year with a fast-track turn-around time for decisions on acceptance for publication of individual articles. Issue 37 (1) is already published.
LiC 37 (2) is expected to be out in May 2021. Accepted papers are first published on-line before they are consolidated into the following issue. The call for papers for issue 37 (3) remains open until July 1st.
In addition to traditional articles, LiC also welcomes video, coding, digital material, visual law and any other non-traditional contributions relevant to its objectives.
Daniel Schwabe is a relevant computer scientist and photographer. We are pleased to present his work on knowledge graphs in LiC 37 (1) and his work as an artist, introduced by himself, here in our Virtual Gallery.
Daniel Schwabe, Liquid fireworks, Bushkill, Pennsylvania, USA, October 16, 2016
I have chosen these images not only for their aesthetic value, but also as a way to connect to some ideas or concepts that are equally present in Law and its use.
Liquid Fireworks is a long exposure image of fallen leaves in a stream. It illustrates how the passage of time can produce perceptions that are very different from both instantaneous captures—where only a moment in time is captured—and from film or time-lapse captures— which show a succession of moments in time.
Here we can visualize in one single image the cumulative effect of time and movement on the subjects, revealing new dimensions and perceptions that would otherwise go unnoticed by an observer. When understanding law in context, it is often important, sometimes even fundamental, to consider this cumulative effect of time.
Daniel Schwabe, Building Façades, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, June17, 2015 [Honourable Mention in 2020 Paris Prix de la Photographie]
This is an image of the façade of two skyscrapers, one standing behind the other. The one in the foreground has this slanted edge design like the side of a pyramid. This image illustrates the effect of perspective, or point of view, and how it affects one’s perception of reality. Many viewers of this image may not even realize what they are looking at and merely see a geometric pattern. Seen in this way, it highlights the disruption of order (one of the main purposes of laws…) and rhythm of each façade through the juxtaposition of the angled side of the frontmost building.
Daniel Schwabe, The loss, Hydra, Greece, September 4, 2007
This image was shot in the Greek island of Hydra, near Athens. At first, I thought this woman was simply looking at passers-by, as the island is full of tourists walking about; it was a bright, colourful day. But then I noticed the framed photo inside the house, visible just to the left of her head. I immediately imagined that this must be her husband, perhaps already deceased, which would fit quite well with the expression of sadness and distance in her face, and the empty chair on her right... I have no way of telling if this is the case, but I feel the image is quite poignant, symbolically illustrating such sad periods in one's life—the loss of a dear one. And also, the onset of old age and the nearness of death, ever present.
This illustrates our perception of reality. We construct some “story” around a set of observations, often with no actual evidence.