A pilgrimage into the liminal: an experiential enquiry into the psychological and embodied space of grief and its representation in film

The lived experience of grief is a universal phenomenon that is both a psychological and embodied experience; it finds expression in varying art forms and is considered in multiple discourses, including psychoanalysis. This project identifies a range of responses to loss and grief and critically reflects on their value and efficacy. Through the use of a phenomenological research process, that results in the production of filmworks, the value of using film as a way of managing and processing loss is considered. The notion of a self-reflexive pilgrimage is adopted as a mode of engagement with the liminal experience of grief. The effects of grief have the potential to develop into a pathological condition, identified in the discipline of psychoanalysis as melancholia, however, the value of using artmaking as a way of processing loss has been given little consideration. Drawing on autobiographical experiences of loss, and working with those who have experienced loss similarly, means that this project is rooted in actual lived experience. The adoption of the self-reflexive location of liminality as mode of engagement enables the production of truthful responses to the experience of grief. The main research question considers how the liminal experience can be represented in and through experiential filmmaking, resulting in the production of a collection of film works: A Work of Memorial: Southend Pier, The Work of Mourning: The Perfect Pirouette, A Performance of Mourning, Parts 1 and 2 and The End of Mourning: Osea Island. The value of a specific aesthetic approach to filmmaking is critically analysed through these filmworks and the application of elements of this approach considered, identifying specific grammatical features that effectively represent the lived experience of grief

Research students exhibition catalogue 2013

This exhibition catalogue showcases the work of current UCA research students at various stages of their research journey. The theme of the exhibition and the one day conference is time - place - space and through their practice the research students examine these concepts and realities

Research students exhibition catalogue 2011

The catalogue demonstrates the scope and vibrancy of current inquiries and pays tribute to the creative capacity and investment of UCA research students. It brings together contributions from students who are at different stages in their research ad/venture. Their explorations are connected by the centrality of contemporary material practices as focal point for the reconsideration of societal values, cultural symbols and rituals and their meaning, and the trans/formation of individual, collective and national identities The media and formats employed range from cloth, jewellery and ceramics to analogue film, the human voice and the representation of dress and fashionin virtual environments. Thematic interests span from explorations at the interface of art and medical science to an investigation of the role of art in contested spaces, or the role of metonymy in ‘how the arts think’ And whilst the projects are motivated by personal curiosity and passion, their outcomes transcend the boundaries of individual practice and offer new insights, under-standing and applications for the benefit of wider society. Prof. Kerstin Me