Subtle bodies: transcorporeal becoming in threshold realms

Through this practice-led research project, woven between land, atmosphere and studio, I explore the felt, intuitive and perceptive processes that are shared across the liminal zones of encounter within both landscape and artmaking. My practice, which involves the creation of hybrid substances and sculptural forms, is anchored by the central endeavour of understanding the ways in which felt experience contributes to a sense of meaning and empathy within these relational encounters. The creative outcomes include sculptural, wearable and image-based artworks, together with the crafting of their supports and considered spatial presence in an installation environment. The research has a particular focus on highlighting and activating the stretch of becoming that unfolds within the relational exchanges between human and non-human entities, materials and atmospheres. I have explored this space of becoming through immersive fieldwork, where I developed sensitised relationships with the threshold landscapes of dusk and the Australian desert, and through explorative studio investigations which involved the creation of sensorially evocative substances and forms that embody a sense of becoming in themselves. The primary area of material research involved creating a hybrid substance that is a threshold in itself - a metal-textile blend developed by growing copper into velvet and organza through electroforming. Other works incorporate a range of materials including silk, paper, bronze, glass and stone. These phenomenological investigations were imbricated with creative/autoethnographic writing and theoretical research drawing on Biosemiotics, the biological philosophy of Elizabeth Grosz, Posthumanism, and writing on somatic practices, theories of embodiment and sensory perception. Throughout the unfolding of these processes, my research has revealed the ways in which felt experience contributes to generating a sense of meaning through enriching our capacity for relational becoming. The project also brought to light a shared resonance between the two spaces of landscape and artmaking, revealing the deep constellations of connection that exist between natural and cultural ecologies.