1 Art at the Heart of Anthropology On the expression of anthropological insights 1 Paola Tinè paola.tine@adelaide.edu.au Abstract In recent years, following the example of anthropological and sociological studies, the use of visual methods for the observation and production of insights has become increasingly important in many other disciplines of social research, such as social work, social policy, health sector and education. But why can visual methods of representation be so useful in social research? This article provides an overview of the historical evolution of the visual anthropological discipline, and of the debate about the relationship between art practice and ethnographic research. It focuses on the role of art as a means of communication and, in particular, as a way of expressing inner feelings, emotions, and all those inexplicable states of mind known in philosophy as ‘qualia’. The theory developed by Ricoeur on the application of text-interpretation methodology as a general paradigm for interpretation in the field of social sciences, is used here to offer a proposal for the implementation of fine art, specifically painting, as a complementary method to express anthropological insights. (166 words) Key-words Communication; Fine Art; Painting; Social research; Visual Anthropology. The author Paola Tine' is a PhD student in Social Anthropology at the University of Adelaide (South Australia). After her studies in the Arts & Humanities (BA Human Sciences with a major in Cultural Anthropology, University of Siena), she specialised in Visual Anthropology (MA, University of Siena). During her studies, she has focused on the Ukrainian conflict and on the memory-building process in post-soviet states. Her recent work included a fieldwork among the Nepali-speaking Bhutanese community of Adelaide. Her current research is focused on social change in modern Nepal. 1 The material disclosed in this article was previously published as a paper on the journal “O Ideàrio Patrimonial”, December 2017, n.9, pp.149-161.