Leeds Arts University Repository (CREST)
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446 research outputs found
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Breathing: An artist’s reflection on the visualisation of an interoceptive experience. The figurative imagination dissolves into the flux of process
No full textVisualisations of interoceptive sensations slide between visual invention and memories of past experiences, between a need to rely on physical resemblances to other objects and a more abstracted understanding of energy flow. This report explores how images that rose unbidden from the unconscious when trying to visualise a particular somatic experience, were then taken formally further on, as another set of images were developed that responded to more abstract visual principles. This research report also explores how interoceptual research can become inseparable from a growing awareness of how the body knows itself and its own metaphors. Centred on a reaction to a Covid-19 induced problem with breathing there is an attempt to show how in the mind images are enfolded into a continuum whereby differences between subject and object disappear. As the process of drawing and image making develops, the artist first of all finds parallels between remembered visual forms and his experience of the sensations associated with being unable to breathe, then on reflection, a further series of drawings are produced that are responses to the process or flow of somatic awareness
Votives and Charm Bracelets Materialising Health-Related Experiences Through ‘Sacred’ Objects
No full textThe concept of a physical artefact acting as an intermediary between the embodied individual and the quasi-divine has historically taken many forms, including charms and tokens worn to ward off evil and ensure good spiritual and physical health. This chapter focuses on the artist Garry Barker’s practice whereby he aims to give material form to people’s psychological relationships with their bodies. Responding to themes that emerge from one-on-one conversations with project participants, Barker has used the making of votives and charms to articulate and materialise people’s health-related narratives. More recently he has been using the charm bracelet as a device for the presentation or exhibition of small sculptures and images that are designed as objects to help mediate between desires to transcend the problems of everyday reality and the need to seek wish fulfilment by channelling more spiritual forces
The Quantified Self, the ideology of health and fat
No full textThis chapter examines the Quantified Self movement and the ideology of health in relation to The Productive Body to consider the body as a site of both discipline and dissent. Robert Crawford describes how the ideology of health, or healthism, supports a neoliberal agenda by situating health and illness as the personal responsibility of the individual. This notion of ‘health’ enables individuals to make moral and ideological judgements about the bodies of others, masking the sexism, racism, classism, and ableism inherent in these judgements. The ideology of health also conceals health's relation to social inequality. For people with the financial resources, leisure is transformed into a form of body-labour that complements their economic function and compels them to purchase equipment and services that optimize their ‘bodily capital.’ In contrast to this, fat bodies, that are more likely to be identified as female, working-class, poor or ethnic minorities, are signifiers of lack of self-control and a poor work ethic.
The Quantified Self movement exemplifies this process. It emerged with the development of wearable devices and apps designed to record detailed measurements relating to the users’ physical, psychological and social well-being. The movement is dominated by middle-class white men who have the time and financial resources to purchase and use tracking devices to optimise their bodies and minds. This chapter argues that this quantification creates ‘productive’ bodies and intensifies ideal neoliberal traits of competitiveness, individualism and self-control. It examines disordered eating behaviours as pathologies of quantification and considers eating for pleasure, rather than health and ‘fuel’, to be a potential disruption to the neoliberalisation of the body and its capacities
We live like trees inside the footsteps of our ancestors
No full textThis output is a research exhibition challenging the destructive legacy of colonialism and environmental exploitation, urging a re-examination of the human-nature relationship through curatorial practices.
Collaboration contribution: Curated by Marianna Tsionki and Mariana Cunha, it stems from their collaborative project Reclaiming EcoVisualities, which merges their shared focus on ecological aesthetics, non-anthropocentric thinking, situated knowledge, and non-Western cosmologies.
Research process: The research process behind the exhibition focused on a collaborative, multi-layered approach, distinct from the spectacle-driven formats of many ecologically-themed exhibitions. It involved deep engagement with ecological and decolonial discourses through independent study, extensive knowledge exchange, and close collaboration between researchers-curators and artists. This approach was vital for unravelling complex narratives and ensuring the exhibition was rooted in diverse research perspectives. The accompanying publication further illuminates these practices, bridging the gap between curatorial strategies and public reception while enhancing understanding of the methodologies used.
Research insights: The research revealed how curatorial processes – theoretical and practical- and exhibition design can transform space into an active element of a research narrative. The arrangement of artworks fostered interactions that emphasized thematic connections, allowing visitors to engage with a cohesive story. Complementary talks and materials enhanced accessibility, broadening the exhibition’s reach. This approach highlighted the role of curatorial practice as a research tool, demonstrating how thoughtful curatorial processes shape and articulate research findings. The process showed the successful integration of artistic and research objectives, offering a model for exploring and communicating ecological themes through curatorial methods. Reflections on the process reveal the success of merging artistic and research objectives, offering a model for exploring ecological themes through innovative curatorial methods.
Dissemination: The research was presented at Blenheim Walk Gallery between 12 May and 22 July 2023, with additional student talks, tours, and contextual presentations, including the Archivo Webinar Series 2023 and the CREAM 2023 Summer Social at Westminster University’s Regent Street Cinema
Citizens of Coventry
No full textThe output is a short poetry video created by filmmaker Chimiak along with poet Sebbie Mudhai. The research explores the experiences of those living in Citizen's supported housing, inspired by the stories of the residents and the staff who support them especially throughout the Covid experience.
Research Process: Eight workshops took place, some specifically for families and some for adults and were led by Mudhai and Chimiak while information gathering. Over 20 residents in total and five staff members of Frank Walsh House and the Gateway, Citizen’s temporary homeless accommodation, took part in a series of workshops to explore their experiences of lockdown and to create a poem.
The poem was then recorded with members of the group reading different sections. Chimiak produced an accompanying film which provided a scenic backdrop to the audio and captured those memories of connecting with nature during the pandemic.
Research insights: The project created a safe space to discuss issues that have arisen out of lockdown and to remember and reflect on individual experiences. The outcome was inspired by the locations the group members discussed during their workshops, creating a sense of place and time. The sound and images give a sense of authenticity and an emotional connection to the experiences of the participants. The human element of the outcome is through the voice, whereas the film presents a series of landscapes and places where people are mostly not present. The tension between word and image evokes the isolation and solitude remembered by the participants from their experiences of the pandemic.
The output shows how editing can become a poetic activity in itself.
Dissemination: The National Memorial Arboretum, Burton-on-Trent, Lockdown Landscapes exhibition, the Drum, 5 June 2023 – 9 October 2023 (72,704 visitors). Collected by the National Memorial Arboretum as part of their archive
Art Now: An inquiry into the state of art and design teaching in early years foundation stage, primary and secondary education
No full textThe Art Now Inquiry explores the current state of art and design education across the four nations; however, the focus is primarily on England where there was more survey data to draw on. It was commissioned by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Art, Craft and Design in Education in response to concerns about the reduction in opportunities for children and young people to access high-quality art and design education. The Inquiry spans early years, primary and secondary phases of schooling.
The Inquiry ran between Spring 2020 and Spring 2023 and this report includes a rapid evidence review of the benefits of art and design education, a literature review of art teaching and teacher education, a national survey of 1,860 art and design teachers and testimonies from two APPG evidence sessions.
Drawing on each of these sources, the Art Now Inquiry report makes the case for art and design education, and the critical importance of investing in a diverse subject-specialist workforce. It starts with an examination of teacher education in art and design which is essential for equipping teachers with the necessary skills, knowledge, and confidence to deliver the curriculum. The Inquiry goes behind the numbers to explore the working conditions, wellbeing and career intentions of art and design teachers. The findings provide a health check on the training and retention of art and design teachers, and highlight the time and resources needed to support access to high-quality provision of art, craft and design education. Ofsted defines a high-quality curriculum in art and design as one that provides the conditions for pupils to develop a love of the subject that is both intellectually challenging and creatively demanding
Desire Lines: Quantified-Self-Portraits Produced with a Fitness Tracking Watch
No full textI am an artist and researcher examining self-tracking practices to understand how these forms of measurement and judgement employ an ideology of health to produce particular (gendered) neoliberal subjects. My fitness tracking watch records bodily movements and presents data as indicators of health. The watch encourages self-optimisation and competition. In contrast, the performances I track do not focus on health or self-improvement but bring attention to hidden labour, often gendered and unpaid, such as admin, cleaning and care. In Desire Lines, the geolocation diagrams produced when working at home are reproduced in linocut prints. These prints, and my body of work on quantification, aim to contextualise self-tracking data within the personal, social and political environment, undoing the propensity of neoliberal capitalism to present health as a personal responsibility and consumer choice. This chapter discusses some positive and negative aspects of self-tracking practices and the Quantified Self movement to outline the position from which I appropriate self-tracking techniques as creative practice-based research methods. By viewing quantification through a queer, feminist lens I hope to draw attention to the inequalities that are concealed by neoliberal notions of health. Using a phenomenological approach, I describe some of the preliminary findings of this ongoing research, including the augmented and outsourced ways of looking and varying temporalities of self-tracking
Why Is Nina Simone such a huge icon?
No full textThe output is an educational/informative/entertainment podcast in the public domain, in which Attah discusses the life, work, and legacy of musician and civil rights activist, Nina Simone.
Research Process: Literature review of primary and secondary sources, including biographies, autobiographies, documentaries, and interviews conducted with the subject, her family, and her associates and collaborators.
Research Insights: The research highlights Simone’s continuing influence and legacy amongst musicians and audiences. It highlights Simone’s importance as a cultural icon with specific regard to her musical talent, her political activism, and her confidence and determination since regarded as her ‘feminism’.
Dissemination: This work was made available to the public via a Sony Music podcast "Shot & Chaser" on Spotify in March 2023
Material Nomads
No full textThe output is a series of fifty-one artworks exhibited as “feral artist interventions”. The documentation of these interventions was collated and presented alongside text as an artist book.
Research process: A collection of objects were sourced from flea markets and second-hand shops across Europe, which were then taken on a “nomadic” journey. Each of the artworks that make up Material Nomads was one iteration of a transformative process beginning with seventeen objects.
The objects were first taken to England where they were transformed into a series of artworks. The objects were photographed “loitering” in suburban sites and printed as A4 cards; selected images of the objects were printed onto pink chiffon squares, similar to women’s head scarves; Three-dimensional casts were taken of the objects in paper mâché and copper foil.
The artworks were then taken to Moss (Norway) and to Lisbon (Portugal) where they were exhibited as “feral artist interventions”.
Research insights: Nomadism is not aimless wandering, but is rather a methodical rotation of settlements to ensure maximum use of obtainable resources. Nomadism is a spatialised condition of flux where movement is triggered and sustained by various key material actants.
Through the strategy of travelling with art works in a suitcase to install in and around cultural sites as temporary feral interventions, this research provides insights into means of exhibition making which allow for greater accessibility and engagement with audiences across borders.
Dissemination: The interventions were exhibited at Momentum 12 at the Nordic Biennale, Moss, Norway 6 – 7 December 2023. The documentation was collated as an artist book, which was disseminated in the UK and Norway.
The project was presented as at the Lost and Found symposium in Lisbon, December 2023 alongside a feral display of the art works at Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea
Two Christian Dior Dresses at the Museum
No full textThe artefact is a mixed media painting on paper, documenting two Christian Dior dresses curated on Mannequins. The Opera Bouffe (1956) and slender evening dress (1952) shown at the worldwide touring exhibition ‘Christian Dior. Designer of Dreams’ The painting responds to the curation of a historical fashion exhibition.
Research Process: Research was undertaken during a visit to the exhibition at the V&A Museum London in 2019 and from various archives to gather enough research to enable some accuracy when painting the silhouette, colour and silk fabric. This line of enquiry was revisited in 2023. The piece is built up through various layers of paint. The process film records the first layer of the artefact; the evolving signature 1950’s silhouettes, much like pattern cutting construction lines.
Research Insights: Major fashion exhibitions are usually recorded through photography for museum archives, online resources, catalogues and to advertise the exhibition to the public.
The piece offers an alternative way of responding to fashion exhibitions. Painting historical fashion displayed in the museum through a contemporary lens explores an alternative perspective on documentary fashion artistry.
Representing two dresses displayed on mannequins rather than inhabited by a body encourages the viewer to imagine the potential wearer, to connect to the time in history when the dresses were made and appreciate some of the presence of historical Haute Couture garments.
Dissemination: The work was exhibited during an exhibition held at Institute Marangoni Paris
27th -30th September 2023. The artefact was published in the book The Fible 4 V.04. FIDA Worldwide page 61