This research investigates interdisciplinary strategies for live classical piano performances. The questions which initiated this research emerged from my practice as a classical pianist, and they are concerned, in particular, with the space of the performance, the formalities of the concert etiquette, and the format of the presentations themselves. Although the conventions of the concert hall and the respective idea of music alone have been widely established since the mid-nineteenth century, the understanding of music as an intrinsically multimedia experience has been increasingly explored in contemporary academic and artistic works. This research aims to contribute to this context by exploring the idea of dramaturgy in the development of interdisciplinary piano performances as comprehensive art works, and by offering alternative ways to engage audiences in classical music performances. To this end, experimental piano performances have been devised to investigate the topics: (1) interdisciplinary dialogues within musical performances; (2) alternative strategies for the space of the performance and for the engagement of audiences; (3) application of concepts of dramaturgy and narrative to interdisciplinary piano performance. Theoretical and practical works in the fields of music performance, theatre and dance have been examined in order to contextualise this study. Findings have been drawn from a reflection-in-action process, which was supported by audience feedback and included considerations on my experience as author and performer, and discussions on the literature review. The outcome of this research shows that interdisciplinary works can demonstrate innovative strategies, introducing new audiences to classical music - to contemporary classical repertoires in particular - and offering fresher ways of engagement to experienced spectators. Ultimately, this research contribution to the classical music field consists of offering new insights for the format of live music performances, new parameters for the classical pianist’s practice, and the introduction of the concept of an artform recital.

Estovers is a practice-based research project on the concept of the commons in contemporary art. It comprises a thesis, and an accompanying portfolio of documentation which is available as audio and transcript on a USB ‘stick’ and as a printed publication. This thesis project considers the research questions: What is the concept of the commons when it is referred to in contemporary art? For what reasons is it being employed as a concept in discursive practices? Practice-based research activity is documented through discursive curation and participation in programmes at Scottish art institutions between 2012 and 2015. Projects were undertaken in collaboration with Jupiter Artland, Transmission Gallery, Gallery of Modern Art, Centre for Contemporary Arts, New Glasgow Society and Collective. Through the use of the concept of ‘estovers’, the methodology explicitly uses the concept of the commons as a mechanism to open up the process of research and the dissemination of knowledge on the topic. The thesis considers a broad history of commons projects. The timeframe of consideration runs from the publication of the Magna Carta, through to the Occupy movement of the early 21st century. Political philosophy confers an ethical duty on the concept of the commons, considering Roberto Esposito’s description of munus in Communitas as ‘the gift that one gives because one must give and because one cannot not give’.

By acknowledging the characterization of my research and practice as a "complexly-woven artistic-existential positionality"1; which whilst activating my interests about place, mobility and identity; it has nevertheless been conditioned by my adoption of an altogether transient lifestyle. The perpetual cycle of certain restrictive modalities that accompany it - variously experienced as economic and spatial flux - has nurtured in me perceptible sensations of artistic constraint; in terms of both limiting my practice outputs and access to the wider art-establishment. In order to counter these problems; and intertwined with issues about 'belonging' and 'place-making' (Markiewicz); the aim of this practice-led research is to assuage my paradoxical desire to remain personally in-transit whilst simultaneously 'becoming' artistically situated. Since I cannot extricate my everyday life from my practice concerns; and in order to unravel and subsequently resolve the perceived connections between them; the initial strategy was to deploy a critical reflexivity about my lived experiences with various spatialities and mobilities. Thereafter, my objective is to establish a new potentiality for my practice; my 'axis-mundi' (Lippard); one which will expand my exposure to scholarly and creative opportunities across the entire art-institutional framework. Central to this investigation is the idea of an essential connection existing between a-priori elements already within the current (restricted) status of my practice and the potential trajectory desired for it. In the first instance, my aim was to formulate an experimental methodology which recognizes and fosters the co-dependent relationship between how I have historically acquired knowledge and its generative potential for my practice. My research identifies a significant gap in knowledge that adequately accounts for an approach to art practice that is based on my lifelong inclination towards grazing on and gleaning from anecdotal and theoretical information. In arguing for a continued expansion in the scope of art-research methodologies, the concept of Pragmatic Selection has evolved which adopts those very same processes for the acquisition of knowledge and; when applied to art-production; constitutes an original contribution to the ongoing debate about practice-led research. Following this development; and in order to better comprehend my perceived marginalized existential positionality (Madison); I necessarily undertake an interrelated examination of critical spatial theory and critical mobility theory. Although noting that notions of space and time appear beyond our full comprehension, there is however a general consensus that a fluid interconnectedness exists between them; which, when enacted through discreet applications, enables multivalent place-making. Importantly for me here, are the emerging personal affiliations with living in perceptible hybrid (Bhahba), liminal (van Gennep, Turner) and/or heterotopic places (Foucault); as well 'cognitive' landscapes (Daniels, Biggs). These include: the idea of a hybrid-liminal space experienced as the 'insider-outsider paradox', where the individual is contextually both the insider and the outsider at the same time; the idea of the trans-national subject whose position is grounded in a specific spatial-temporal liminal register; and furthermore; the idea of the contemporary nomad whose position is without fixity to a specific place (Kebshull, Braidotti, et. al.). Concluding that all kinds of spaces are potentially made transitory through the intervening processes of (de/re-) construction - as a type of mobility (Cresswell) - it becomes apparent that the triangulation of those very same ideas could be applied in the creation of sculptures that embody and/or represent a similar trans-positional state. Concurrently, I am constantly recording, reflecting and responding to the above theories by both creating and analysing a number of preparatory studies for a potential future application of them. By interrogating the tendency of using the language of binary referents within my work (here-there; this-that; etc.), which; alongside a corresponding investigation into hyphenated living (Bruno, van Dyk); I have conceived the physical manipulation of the hyphen as a type of 'structural' middle-zone. To that end; and rather than acquiescing to the normative expectation to exhibit work; I have met another of my objectives here with the purposeful creation and display of an original 'idea', which; latterly termed the Trans-positional Art-object (Mezzone); constitutes another significant contribution to the contemporary artistic-academic discourse. Furthermore; as a three-dimensional expansion of the compressed two-dimensional written form of the hyphen symbol itself (-), it has generated a space in which to 'house' my artistic responses to theory and anecdote. As an original approach to art practice, it challenges art-institutional authority by subverting the traditional hierarchy of art-object categorization in the model-maquette-sculpture relationship. In conceiving a new unified position for them, a (liminal) middle-zone emerges which acts as a type of compressed space and an expanded place at the same time. It advocates for the trans-positionality of the art-object as subject, in a form which is fluid, hybrid and ambivalent; yet it is fully grounded in its own potentiality. Inspired by observing certain forms of resilience and subversion used to counter restrictive modalities experienced in both the carceral context (Moran, Fiddler) as well as more commonplace situations (Flynn, de Certeau), I have successfully co-opted a similarly creative tactic herein. This in turn, has provided me with a point of focus around which a sense of becoming has been formulated. That is; whilst beginning this research with some reservations about my place as an artist (belonging) and the trajectory of my practice (becoming), I can now claim to have fully entered into that apparently negotiable in-between space of the liminal threshold. By having contested it and ventured through it, I have emerged into a new place by firmly establishing my current position within the historic art-academic timeline. Whilst articulating contemporary experiences about mobility, my proposition also draws upon both historic and current artistic and philosophical theories. These include ideas about: simultaneity (Bergman, Foucault and Bauman); motility (Kaufmann); thinking material (Cragg); and also the subjectile (Artaud, Derrida and Long). Correspondingly; the conceptual premise of the Trans-positional Art-object (Mezzone) is very much grounded within the precedent of Institutional Critique. As a subversive tactic; frequently involving the manipulation of a-priori elements to expose the often concealed hierarchies of power and mechanisms of control within the art-institutional framework; it has been successfully employed by Metzger, Ali Uysal and Asher to register their own counter-positions within it. Altogether, these artists have effectively enacted perceptible types of simultaneous trans-positionality; they have similarly entered a perceived liminal space; a middle-zone; a perceived space in-between their practice and the art-institution itself. They have fully engaged with and subverted the (art-contextualized) insider-outsider paradox and, in having ventured outside of the institution's authority, they have necessarily had to - as I have done also -simultaneously return to the inside of it. By claiming an original approach to research methodologies (Pragmatic Selection) and also art-production; my aim has been to trans-form my practice by establishing new potentialities for it; thus enhancing my motility and exposure to both scholarly and creative opportunities across the entire art-institutional framework. To that end, I have met my objective in the creation and display of an original 'idea': the Trans-positional Art-object (Mezzone) constitutes a new and original development in contemporary artistic-academic discourse.

The practice based research project presented in this thesis draws upon theoretical research in affect studies and film-­philosophy. The aim of the thesis is to reconsider the pre-­production and production process of narrative cinema and involve the rich and varied research into the area of affect and the body in the field of film studies that is currently being used to analyse the reception and meaning making process used as the foundation for producing a series of narrative films that privilege affect over traditional storytelling structures. Four films were made as part of an investigation into affective film practice. These films accompany the written exegesis and serve as a testing ground for concepts developed in the written component of the thesis. Each piece of practice is formally and conceptually more complex than the last. The fourth and final film serves as an example for the cinema of affective tonality and as such constitutes the central, visual argument. The theoretical research and experimental moving-­image practice result in the outlining of five conditions for the production of a cinema of affective tonality, which are combined with a taxonomy of affect developed by the author of the thesis. The taxonomy and guidelines offer filmmakers and researchers -­ engaged in moving-­image practice and visual methods -­ a proposition to construct cinema through affect rather than linguistics and ideology of film grammar.

Benbarrow was initially conceived as a dual-perspective narrative, set in the period immediately preceding WWII. The main apparatus of study is a coming-of-age prose novel set in a rural inter-war context, for which the complementary research forms an integral part of the writing process. With a specific focus on 'middlebrow' fiction for women set in a period of history that broadly qualifies as being 'within living memory', the PhD thesis will articulate the insight this offers into the craft of creating a fiction text and will contribute to an understanding of the process of, and relationship between, research and creative writing. Following my MPhil-PhD transfer (Oct 2013) I explored the areas discussed in the profile of enquiry, guided by the advice of the transfer panel. My research was subsequently interrupted by personal factors, including family illness and bereavement, and the resignation by my DoS of his MMU post. These impacted on my studies, and I elected to suspend for twelve months. My return to studies enabled me to thoroughly review my enquiries to date, and to reconsider methodology and direction. Supported by my new DoS, Dr Paul Evans, I reconsidered my focus, developing previously 'secondary' characters and addressing the interactions and influences between a group of women of differing age, background and experience. I have also been encouraged to reflect on the 'source' potential of my wider writing interests, which include poetry and non-fiction and the 'output' impact of my learning on my teaching As a result, there have been significant changes in both the narrative and the "methodology, scale and parameters of study". With revised emphasis on process and the way in which personal circumstances can influence the text, my thesis explores "the craft of creating a fiction text" and as discussed in my original proposal contributes to an understanding of the "relationship between research and creative writing".

The importance of preventing the degradation of museum objects is undeniable and it is connected with the knowledge available on the item to be stored. Animal skin, leather and synthetic leather are part of museum collections. Their degradation mechanisms have been studied, but that of newly developed coated leather and fabrics are less understood. Likewise, composite materials made of leather fibres and textiles have been commercialised but their degradation mechanism is mostly unknown. Therefore innovative coated substrates, leather, textiles and composites, require thorough investigations because both their identification and degradation can become a problem for museums in the near future. Initial characterisation of natural, artificial and composite leather material with and without flame retardant was conducted using invasive and non-invasive techniques. It was found that successful identification can be carried out with non-invasive methods when both top and reverse side of the materials are accessible. In particular, visual investigation, stereo-microscopy and ATR-FTIR allowed the discrimination of the substrates. However, only the latter was able to discriminate between composites with or without flame retardant. Invasive SEM-EDX and KES-FB2 and KES-FB3 also allowed substrate identification but only EDX discriminated between the different composite materials. Accelerated ageing was then conducted on leather and related materials. Leather-based substrates were characterised by similar degradation pathways, but only natural leather samples showed obvious signs of deterioration in appearance and mechanical properties. The composite’s mechanical properties worsened in the case of substrates containing flame retardant, in particular after high heat and humidity ageing. The appearance of these materials was also partially compromised as demonstrated by the roughness results. The composite without flame retardant and synthetic leather were more stable. Synthetic leather was mainly degraded after severe heat ageing. A list of invasive and non-invasive degradation markers was prepared and the correlation between the roughness and the bending rigidity and work for compression evaluated. In addition, the data collected during the accelerated ageing procedures were examined in the light of the current preventive conservation guidelines for museums and a revised proposal for preliminary guidelines was prepared. Finally, the Proactive Collaborative Conservation (ProCoCo) was developed as a novel approach that has the potential to create a bridge between the knowledge of manufacturers, that of conservators and conservation scientists.

This project proposes that the reading of an artist’s book is one that may entail an experience that is distinctive to the medium, one that encompasses a shift of expectations of what a book is or does. That there is an awareness of the book held in the hands, and of its interactivity and deployment in time, and that this combination of tactile and cognitive negotiation of the mechanisms of the book’s structure, sequence and content make for a particularity of engagement. As a dialogical relationship, coming from a personal and infinitely variable experience of the book by its reader/viewer, this is one that is inherently elusive and complex to analyse. In investigating the nature of the temporality of self-reflexive dynamics as an underlying characteristic of the medium, this thesis submits that the foregrounding of the synthesis in time of the mutable and the concrete may be an apposite and constructive approach to exposition and evaluation of this heterogeneous field. The development of this research and the setting out of the enquiry has been undertaken through the production and methodology of my practice, which takes such auto-reflectivity as manifest subject. The thesis approaches the questions by means of the allusion to the occurrences and strategic use of self-conscious metafictional play in literature, not as a directly comparative study but by appraising the effect in terms of relational, and at times implicit association. Following an outline of the contexts of the critical study of artists’ books and of structuralist and post-structuralist narratology and literary theory in terms of the specular, the main portion of the writing is in the form of self-contained sections, in each of which a range of figures and mechanisms are considered, forming an overall constellation of shifting interconnection.

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The thesis re-examines and re-configures the category of Bad Painting. By selecting a disparate group of Bad Painters, explored in the form of small case studies, the research creates an imaginary, timeless peer group that crosses over the genre. This imagined group includes Martin Kippenberger, Philip Guston, Rene Magritte, – especially of the Période vache – Lee Lozano, Sandy Guy, and Andreas Schulze. The thesis proposes a new model for understanding Bad Painting in relation to both networked painting (as advocated by David Joselit in his “Painting Beside Itself”) and new materialisms. The resonances of the latter are reflected back through Bad Painting in terms of what the thesis describes as “Soft Object Painting”. By supplying an idiosyncratic contextual framework, these case studies enabled the production of a body of Bad Paintings made over several years at Goldsmiths. These works borrowed strategies, tactics, attitudes and styles from multiple approaches. Many things entered the practice as a result, including: the outsourcing of painting labour in Chinese workshops as a form of networked production influenced by the networked production of Lee Lozano and the theories of David Joselit; overpainting commissioned paintings; colliding styles and themes in unexpected combinations, such as the juxtaposition of illustrational techniques with the conservative brushwork of painterly abstraction, in the manner of Ivon Hitchens or Howard Hodgkin; use of found images that refer to other areas and histories of cultural production. Through both the practice and the written element, the research proposes to update the genre of Bad Painting. This is largely done by associating the two ideas of “painting as network” and “soft object painting” with the notion of “flattened ontologies”. The research attempts to forge a fresh pathway for Bad Painting, allowing for the continuation of a slippery, de-centred, timeless and rhizomatically structured genre.