Orchids: Intersex and Identity in Documentary explores the creative practice challenges of working with bodies with intersex in the long-form auto/biographical documentary Orchids. Just as creative practice research challenges the dominant hegemony of quantitative and qualitative research, so does my creative work position itself as a nuanced piece, pushing the boundaries of traditional cultural studies theories, documentary film practice and creative practice method, through its distinctive distillation and celebration of a new form of discursive rupturing, the intersex voice.

This research project explores two particular approaches to playwriting, autofiction and collective creation, in order to examine how the dramaturgical process can be “queered” through combining methods of creation in unconventional ways. The thematic content of the resulting theatrical text focuses on the intersection of queer/trans identities and bilingualism, specifically through a Franco-Canadian lens, as well as the notions of utopias and futurities in queer contexts. By employing these two methodologies simultaneously and blurring the lines between the individual and the collective, the texts developed through group writing sessions explore the inherent liminality of queer/trans bilingual identities, both in time and in space. To be queer, non-binary and bilingual is to embody duality, disrupt binaries, and exist in grey areas; this same liminal space is central to my exercise both in process and in content. Thus, the object of this study is queer dramaturgy itself, or in other words, the process of writing “queerly,” not just about queerness. The combination of methodologies transgresses the boundaries of the conventional dramaturgical process and aligns itself with queer Practice as Research theories, proposing approaches to playwriting that “are set against the dominant modes of representation and are shaped through forms that are on the fringe and boundaries of disciplines” (Campbell and Farrier, Queer Dramaturgies, p. 7). This project also investigates what trans and non-binary identity means within Franco-Canadian communities, and the relationship between language and gender identity. Furthermore, notions of queer temporality play an important role in the project, given the complex and often conflicting investments that both queer and Franco-Canadian communities have in history and futurity. Through an analysis of Mani Soleymanlou’s works Un. Deux. Trois. and 2042 as case studies of autofictional theatre, collective creation, and utopian performance, as well as the results from a series of writing sessions conducted with multilingual non-binary and trans participants, this research project aims to shed light on these fascinating intersections of identity and process that have thus far rarely been explored. /// Ce projet de recherche explore deux approches dramaturgiques distinctes, soit l'autofiction et la création collective, afin d'examiner comment le processus dramaturgique peut devenir « queer » en combinant des méthodes de création de manière non conventionnelle. Le contenu thématique du texte théâtral qui en résulte se concentre sur l'intersection des identités queer/trans et du bilinguisme, tout particulièrement dans une perspective franco-canadienne, ainsi que sur les notions d’utopies et de futurs possibles dans des contextes queers. En employant ces deux méthodologies simultanément et en brouillant les lignes entre l'individu et le collectif, les textes développés lors des sessions d'écriture de groupe explorent la liminalité inhérente aux identités bilingues queer/trans, à la fois dans le temps et dans l'espace. Être queer, non-binaire et bilingue, c'est incarner la dualité, remettre en question la binarité et exister dans des zones grises. C’est justement cet espace liminal qui est au cœur de mon projet de recherche, à la fois dans le processus et dans le contenu. Ainsi, l'objet de cette étude est la dramaturgie queer comme telle, ou, en d'autres mots, comment on peut créer d’une manière « queer » en plus d’écrire sur un propos queer. La combinaison des méthodologies transgresse les frontières du processus dramaturgique conventionnel et s'aligne sur les théories de la recherche-création queer (Queer Practice as Research), proposant des approches à la dramaturgie « set against the dominant modes of representation and are shaped through forms that are on the fringe and boundaries of disciplines » (Campbell et Farrier, Queer Dramaturgies, p. 7). Ce projet examine également les notions d'identité trans et non-binaire au sein des communautés franco-canadiennes, ainsi que la relation entre la langue et l'identité de genre. De plus, les notions de temporalité queer jouent un rôle important dans le projet, étant donné les investissements complexes et souvent conflictuels que les communautés queer et franco-canadiennes ont par rapport à l'histoire et à l’avenir. À travers une analyse d’œuvres mises en scène par Mani Soleymanlou (Un. Deux. Trois. et 2042) comme études de cas de théâtre autofictionnel, de création collective et de performance utopique, ainsi que les résultats d'une série de séances d'écriture menées avec des participant∙e∙s plurilingues non-binaires et trans, ce projet de recherche vise à mettre en lumière ces intersections fascinantes de l'identité et des processus créatifs qui ont jusqu'à présent été rarement explorées.

In this dissertation I investigate photographs not only as images of something, or as objects we can hold, but I also investigate how they are acts grounded in place. That is, I consider the photograph as event. The backbone of my research is a hybrid social science and visual art undertaking in which I produce both academic texts and art installations through visual inquiry into the intensely imagined places that are Canadian national parks. I examine how the myth of wilderness is made concrete in visual images of Waterton Lakes National Park, Alberta. I explore the situatedness of photography through ethnographic and archival research into the conditions that produced over four-hundred photographs of Waterton from the late 19th century to the present. This research advances understanding of how specific historical photographic events shape dominant systems of environmental knowledge in Canada. I explore the intertwined histories of place and representation in Waterton over the past 150 years and how they emerge in the present. To unravel the politics of representation in national parks in Canada I address three key questions: First, how do images that portray and represent wilderness in Canada affect not only our imagination about national parks, but our experiences in, and actions in, national parks? In particular, how are photographs not just representations of national parks but how do we form a relationship to space and place through them? Second, I carry out a visual investigation of Waterton Lakes National Park to study the photograph as event, and ask, how photographs, not just as images and objects, are acts grounded in place? Finally, I ask: What new approaches can be deployed to investigate existing visual collections and to bring them to bear on the history and present of the national park space? I describe how visual methods can generate new ways of thinking about photography and place.

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