On The Couch - Test installation at KARST, May 2019
An Illustrated Journey along the Signifying Chain: How can a psychoanalytic approach to illustration subvert the process of narrative meaning-making?
My research is in the area of crossover between Psychoanalysis and Illustration, and through this research I have developed a psychoanalytic illustration practice.
My research asks questions about what lies behind the stories we tell: what our unconscious might be trying to reveal to us, through our dreams, or through our choice of words, that can't be known at face value.
What happens when illustration doesn't tell the viewer the full story? What can we experience in the gaps between a text and an image, and how do we try and find meaning when we're confronted with the unknown?
I have explored these questions through developing an illustration practice that responded to interviews with people about their dreams and personal myths, treating this material as a text. My MA research project culminated in an installation which invited viewers to ‘lie down on the couch’ and open up to a plane of dreams and personal mythology, evoked through enigmatic projected images and messages.
My research draws on theory from psychoanalysis, visual art, narrative and image-text relationships to establish an illustration practice that can explore what happens if we follow a chain of association, and move a layer deeper, below the surface.
If you’re interested in my research, please contact me.