Victorian College of the Arts - Theses
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ItemPainting the Restless Space( 2023-11)Painting the Restless Space is a material examination of the unstable nature of embodiment. Sitting under the studio work are two ‘shocking’ events of ‘carnage’ that instilled in me a personal concern for the precarious condition of bodies. Instability has become the subject and the method of the work, reinforced in the way that distinct materials behave and relate to one another. Moving from flesh (the referent) to paint and text (the signifiers) the hope for replication fades in the fluidity of paint and the potential of ‘wandering’ words. My attempts can only approximate flesh, as stand-ins, prostheses, and failures. Unpicking the illusory nature of boundaries that demarcate the self, I am asking “What can bodies do?” What are their limits and entanglements? What can we know and feel about our bodies through the ways that we relate to objects? How can a creative practice engage with processes of bodily reconfiguration, recontextualisation, and reinterpretation, exploring subjectivity as porous, entangled, and contingent? As a painter, I seek to find painterly ways to respond to these questions and to enliven the possibilities for knowledges rooted in the uncertainty and messiness of embodiment. Through this research, I articulate how my studio practice draws on a range of personal experiences, theoretical fields, and artistic practices to consider how painting can help us discover new ways of unsettling existing modes of looking and thinking about bodies.
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ItemThe function of music in narrative cinema(University of Melbourne, 1996)
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ItemAnton Webern : variationen fur klavier, OP.27 : an analysis(University of Melbourne, 2002)
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ItemSibell Mary, Countess Grosvenor by Jules Dalou and its forgotten history(University of Melbourne, 1999)
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ItemThe semper eadem : salting flesh shoreline project(University of Melbourne, 2007)
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ItemWe Carnivora Becoming: Animating a Multinatural Backyard( 2023-11)This research explores the ways experimental animation can enact posthumanist methodologies and situated speculative fictions in an attempt to find more-than-human knowledges and regenerative multinatural ways of being in the face of escalating ecological catastrophes. The project comprises a large-scale video installation, documenting two years of research and experimentation, and an accompanying dissertation. The film aims to reshape dominant narratives that promote the myth of a dualistic separation between nature and culture, and seeks new languages, ways of seeing and intelligence beyond what is defined as human. The outcome of this research project has been the development of a diffractive animation practice — a process and methodology where technology, imagination, and the body collaborate in the production and reinterpretation of sound and images. The dissertation begins with an overview of posthumanism, becoming-with and situated knoweldges. From there, it elaborates on the importance of speculative fictions for redefining the world in ways that are beneficial to all life. These are the stories of ecofeminist science fiction authors, First Nations peoples and more-than-humans. The research focuses particular attention on stories of dogs, coyotes, and dingos for the ways they challenge separations between natural and social-political realms. Chapter Two offers an argument for experimental animation’s ability to enact the posthumanist methodologies and situated speculative fiction practice. I propose that experimental animation reveals processes of thought, material agency (affects and effects), and implicit biases. Through the lens of animacy, it is seen to actively challenge the notion of an inert unconscious world. Chapter Three details the methods and animation practices that have contributed to the final outcome. These are a speculative writing practice, collaboration with nonhuman technology, techniques of re-imaging, and a layering of perspectives within virtual and physical spaces, that is We Carnivora Becoming.
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ItemThe Big Brother Retrospective: Representing Reality, Truth Claims and The Self( 2023-09)This practice-led research, informed by my dual roles as a queer filmmaker and reality TV enthusiast, integrates theories and practical approaches from autoethnography, archiveology, approximation, and sample filmmaking to explore notions of truth and representations of reality in documentary filmmaking and reality TV. Through an investigation into various aspects of filmmaking discourse and practice, culminating in the production of a 50-minute documentary film titled Remembering Big Brother Australia Queerly (2023), this research explores how self-representation in documentary filmmaking can unveil embedded ideologies related to gender and sexuality within the reality TV series Big Brother Australia (Diesel 2001–2022). In doing so, this practice-led research aims to evoke an instability of truth in both reality TV and documentary filmmaking. Reality TV stands out as a prominent television genre, continually giving rise to new programmes and dedicated streaming sites. However, critical analysis of its truth claims has often been dismissed due to the perception that it diverges significantly from reality. The seminal reality TV franchise, Big Brother, achieved global phenomenon status, providing valuable insights into the history of reality TV and shaping our contemporary television landscape. This research acknowledges the importance of understanding what captivates viewers, recognising that it extends beyond being solely a reflection of the production process. It also sheds light on something intrinsic to the individual; what they are drawn to in the world of media says something meaningful about them. By incorporating autoethnography into the fabric of reality TV and my personal documentary practice, the exploration of subjectivity brings the discourse on truth claims to the forefront, revealing an inevitable reflection of my own personal truth. Consequently, both this research and the resulting documentary stand as poignant, deeply personal, and vulnerable endeavours. The outcomes of this research have left a profound impact on my filmmaking practice, offering valuable insights into a wide array of documentary filmmaking methods. This thesis contributes to the broader discourse on the fluidity and subjectivity of representation in documentary filmmaking. It highlights the transformative potential that emerges when working with pre-existing footage, particularly from mainstream media, within the rich context of collective and personal memory.
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ItemACCIDENTALLY INTERCULTURAL, INCIDENTALLY FEMINIST: A study in the creation of rehearsal environments( 2023-08)This research explores my experience as a theatre director over the past seven years, exploring the nuances of the rehearsal environment and on the work produced. Focusing primarily on MainStage settings, I have developed directorial frameworks through lived experience that address the complexities and challenges inherent in theatre making, particularly when working with artists and stories from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. Artists from marginalised backgrounds who enter MainStage companies are often met by structural barriers, bias, and unconscious assumptions. Leaders who work inside these institutions and enable the presentation of these works also face challenges as they sit at a squeeze point between the needs of the organisation and the needs of the culturally diverse artist. To critically examine these tensions, my research draws on evolving critical theories of intersectional feminism, interculturalism, directorial practice, and collaborative approaches. Central to my investigation is the exploration of these critical theories and influence on my process, with a particular focus on the impact of the improvisational form of Playback Theatre. Through this analysis, I identify points of convergence between interculturalism, intersectional feminism and directorial discourse, finding the intersection of these perspectives in my directorial approach. Utilizing autoethnographic and ethnographic methodology, I present three historical case studies of my projects - Taxithi, Melbourne Talam, and Hungry Ghosts - to outline the development of my key conceptual frameworks: 'Threshold,' 'Yield,' and 'Bridge.' These frameworks offer a means to examine the interplay of critical theories, perspectives, and processes in the creation of a rehearsal environment. Furthermore, I provide a Practice as Research study, which includes the Melbourne Theatre Company production of Laurinda, where I rigorously test the efficacy of these frameworks to bridge the gap between practitioner and scholar discourses. Throughout the research, personal accounts of my lived experiences and growth as a director significantly contribute to the conclusions drawn. The frameworks help illuminate how I 'hold space' as a director and navigate challenges within a MainStage organizational structure, illuminating emerging questions and insights from the directorial process, specifically addressing limitations of emerging critical theory around Brave/Safe theatre practice. This research endeavours to explore the intricacies of cultivating a rehearsal environment that genuinely fosters inclusion while nurturing the artistic vision of a play within a production house. The investigation questions and considers both structural and individual challenges that arise, especially within the context of our contemporary cultural climate characterized by a pressing need for cultural redress. By shedding light on the multifaceted process of establishing inclusive and empowering rehearsal spaces, this study aims to bridge the gap between theoretical concepts and practical implementation, making substantial contributions to the ongoing discourse on better supporting historically overlooked creatives. It also aspires to offer valuable insights to MainStage companies, encouraging them to embrace more inclusive practices while enriching the critical dialogue surrounding directorial and creative approaches in performing arts.
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ItemBelting in Late-Adolescent Female Voices in Music Theatre: An Investigation of Sustainable Practice( 2023-05)The vocal ‘singing’ quality known as belting continues to evolve in both range and frequency of use in the music theatre industry, creating a variety of teaching approaches and generating practical and theoretical research in the field of vocal studies. Given its significance in musical theatre singing training, it is striking that little research covers the impact of belting on late-adolescent (16-21 years) pre-professional female vocalists, a period when vulnerable laryngeal mechanisms are potentially at risk, particularly in the absence of sustainable belt practices. This Action Research project pilots an investigation of the current practical and theoretical knowledge of belting from the perspectives of late- adolescent female vocalists and their voice teachers in Australia in order to further understand the notion of sustainable belting, provisionally defined in this research as: vocal efficiency and ease through minimal levels of exertion and effort to optimise the quality and performance of the voice without detriment to vocal health. Driving the investigation are three research questions: 1) What does sustainable belting mean to late-adolescent female singers, and how do they achieve this in their practice?; 2) What does sustainable belting mean to voice teachers, and how do they help their late-adolescent female students achieve this?; and 3) Based on findings from the first two questions, what principles may be considered when optimising sustainable belting for late-adolescent female singers, and how does this contribute to broader discourses on belting? The methods used to answer these questions were practice-led observation and intervention, field notes, questionnaires, and content analysis. As a practice-led study, I explored specific assumptions of, and practical contingencies for, sustainable belt practices. The findings underscore the perceived usefulness of speech quality and register transitioning in sustainable belt practices from the perspectives of both voice teachers and late-adolescent vocalists. Additionally, all participants from the practice-led study unexpectedly encountered anxiety and self-trust issues, thus identifying an area for further research within this specific demographic.
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ItemNOWHERE / NOW HERE( 2022-11)This research investigates the verbal / visual thresholds of the sign, in order to explore the semiotics between memory, meaning, and mark-making. The approach took the form of a series of divergent projects, responding to Michel de Montaigne’s notion of the “essai” — taken, in its original sense, as the imperative to “try” and experiment. In making the works, a wide range of material processes were employed, including frottage, drawing, painting, calligraphy, digital typography, and font-making. Each iteration operates as a poetic mapping of memory, or diagramming of conscious experience. A variety of approaches served to foreground the conceptual resonances across the body of works. While materially diverse, the projects are connected by common lines of enquiry, namely, explorations of the physical manifestation of meaning, via signs. Throughout, language and mark-making are understood as co-extensive gestures. Ferdinand de Saussure’s definition of the sign offers a framework from which to examine the elements whereby meaning is constructed and shared. Text is a unifying element across the projects, seeking as it does to materialise thought. Over the course of these essais, the importance of the hand-made mark emerges, revealing the hand as leitmotif. Tim Ingold’s writings prove valuable in proposing an ontology of “craft,” where thinking happens in conversation with making.