This practice based research seeks to explore and extend the potential of camera obscura projections to perceptually transform objects and spaces by using their unique visual qualities. These pertain to immediacy and directness. Although apparently tangible, the projected images appear to reside in a void where there is an absence of surrounding visual reference. This causes the images to appear disconnected from any context, thereby prompting associations with Freud's notions of the uncanny and Proust's narrative of the transitional. The research consists of a sequence of practice based studies. These commenced with an exploration into the perceptual ambiguities of reflection and shadow. Perceptual ambiguity was further explored through the distorting effects of curved pinhole cameras. The latter began to suggest using the camera itself as an object within which something could be viewed. With the incorporation of focusing lenses, this led to projections where the observer was situated within the camera obscura. Throughout the research, the objects projected were always ordinary and familiar, commencing with a light bulb. The addition of lighting sequences thus enabled further exploration of various phases of ambiguity, as well as enhanced definition and recognition of the projected image. This was followed by projections of other objects, which sought to place them in a particular visual context; for example a mug projected into' an actual microwave located within a kitchen. Although this produced surreal connotations, the surrounding visual material diluted the impact of the projected image. A decision was therefore made to concentrate entirely on the presentation of the projected images by refining projection techniques to enhance their quality and definition. The introduction of movement subsequently heightened perceptual ambiguity, as did the addition of the multiplication of images. This led to a rich variety of projected imagery which ranged from the perceptible to the imperceptible, involving synchronicity, transparency, juxtaposition, transposition from line to plane, and contrast between stasis and movement. The increasingly extraordinary images prompted a reevaluation of the observer's visual assumptions. These practical investigations, together with historical, literary, and philosophical issues, combine to extend the possibilities of the camera obscura in terms of contemporary artistic practice.

Two main arguments are developed in this thesis: first is the claim that our ability to make and understand representational pictures has a natural basis in our capacity to see. In this respect, I have drawn on the ideas of the visual scientist, David Marr and on the theory of representation expounded by John Willats. Second, I argue that the view articulated by these theorists forms a theoretical backdrop for, but does not satisfactorily explain, how pictures may heighten our sense of bodily presence. A central aim of this thesis is therefore to show how this mode of expression is also non-arbitrarily linked to the process of seeing by virtue of its relationship with our visuomotor capacities. In order to give substance to these ideas, I have attempted to weave together knowledge of art history with neuropsychological evidence and phenomenological philosophy. In applying this view to the work of particular artists, I have largely focussed on the oeuvre of Cézanne and the Cubists. However, the general form of this argument is intended to have wider implications, indicating the development of a stylistic tendency in modern art and showing how it differs from that of the Renaissance tradition. In conclusion, my thesis expresses the view that vision – and hence representation – can be divided along two separate lines: one related to a conceptual form of seeing and the other related to a bodily form of perception. The "crisis of representation" in the late nineteenth century is therefore considered indicative of a rejection of the former mode of visuality. Instead, modern artists are said to re-structure the viewing experience so that it shows the reliance of sight on the body, thus permitting the beholder a more active and constitutive role in the perception of art.

Taking as it basis the longstanding alignment of men with an active, eroticised gaze and women with visual spectacle within Western culture, this thesis demonstrates the prevalence of this model during the Victorian era, adopting an interdisciplinary approach so as to convey the varied means by which the gendering of vision was propagated and encouraged. Chapter One provides an overview of gender and visual politics in the Victorian age, subsequently analysing a selection of texts that highlight this gendered dichotomy of vision. Chapter Two focuses on the theoretical and developmental underpinnings of this dichotomy, drawing upon both Freudian and object relations theory. Chapters Three and Four centre on women’s poetic responses to this imbalance, beginning by discussing texts that convey awareness and discontent before moving on to examine more complex portrayals of psychological trauma. Chapter Five unites these interdisciplinary threads to explore women’s attempts to break away from their status as objects of vision, referring to poetic and artistic texts as well as women’s real life experiences. The thesis concludes that, though women were not wholly oppressed, they were subject to significant strictures; principally, the enduring, pervasive presence of an objectifying mode of vision aligned with the male.

This thesis comprises two research papers. The first is a systematic review which examines the effectiveness of Art Therapy (AT) for people with psychosis, and whether it is a suitable and meaningful intervention to them. A systematic search of the literature resulted in 16 articles which were critically reviewed. There was inconclusive evidence for the efficacy of AT due to the limited and poor quality research. However, AT was considered beneficial and meaningful by people with psychosis and art therapists. The use of AT for this population cannot be discounted though better quality research is needed to guide clinical practice. The second component is an empirical paper that explores the meaning of adaptation to First Episode of Psychosis (FEP), through creating images. Ten participants engaged in an interview where they created an image of their experience. The data were analysed through Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis and image analysis. Adaptation to FEP entailed challenges and growth as participants’ came to terms with FEP, reformed their life and re-evaluated their identity and place in the world. This research adds to the recovery and growth literature and highlights the benefits of visual research methods. Drawings produced powerful data which facilitated understanding of the phenomenon.

This thesis examines the notions of self and no-self, specifically in light of the actor’s experience and manner of engagement in actor training. Arguing that the actor’s assumptions and beliefs regarding self affect embodiment and engagement in training, the thesis highlights the importance of considering these notions, and proposes some practical explorations. Training experiences in theatrical biomechanics and the work of Nicolás Núñez are reflected upon as practical references for the investigation. The lack of a fixed ongoing self in experience is identified as a key stance in considerations within philosophy, psychology and neuroscience, and the consequences, for the actor, of conceiving an independent, on-going self as existing in experience are suggested to lead to a perceived dualism that is at times considered to interfere in the actor’s work. The thesis suggests an understanding of self as a ‘myth’ created through ‘storytelling,’ conceptualisation and embodied metaphor, and as a process of neurological mapping as argued by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson, Antonio Damasio, Louis Hoffman and others. For considering the notion of no-self and the actor’s potential for operating without a sense of personal identity, the thesis draws on the no-self theory of Buddhism and ‘attunement’ and the ‘self-cultivation’ model proposed by Nagatomo Shigenori and Yuasa Yasuo. Drawing on no-self theory, the questions regarding dualism in the actor’s experience, a transformation of habitual patterns of movement and action, everyday consciousness and the actor’s manner of engagement in training are examined. Identifying actor-training as a process of self-exploration and self-definition in the work of Phillip Zarrilli, Eugenio Barba and others, the thesis argues for the importance of considering the notions of self and no-self and introduces alternative models for this examination.