RESEARCH FOLIO

This research folio is designed to illustrate the conception, development and execution of the ideas around which my practice pivots, and the sources from which these ideas have drawn inspiration and guidance. These dialogues can loosely be categorized into four sections: Studio (the progression of my practical work in relation to my research), Talks (the public and private discussions I have attended or been involved with), Artists and Exhibitions, and General Research (being the ideas sourced from the internet, books, films and the media).

I have only included details about the sources that have significantly impacted the trajectory of my thought and practice, and this folio is by no means a comprehensive list of all the events and cultural ephemera that I have engaged with over the last year.

Also included in the folio is my final dissertation, Spectres of The Apocalypse: On Fear and Fidelity, which considers the sociopolitical and psychological impact of our anticipation of the event, drawing largely from Alain Badiou's three logical frameworks on whch events operate and Joseph Campbell's Monomyth (or The Hero's Journey). I argue how the immanence of the apocalypse is an important tool for social organisation and self-consciousness.

For more information about the structure, content and purpose of this research folio, and an overview of the core concerns of my practice, please visit the FAQ section.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The corporeal shift of an event is eventually rendered insignificant in comparison to its catalytic potential for the cultivation of new beliefs. We understand that a significant part of belief is built on a foundation of doubt, exemplifying how an individual’s belief system is subject to rational thought processes without which their faith is without substance. By convincing ourselves that what is to come is actually buried in the past, we may no longer be the powerless victim¬¬s of our beliefs, but will instead be able to exert our power over them by choosing which beliefs to believe in. The construction of our idiosyncratic fictions ultimately constitutes the framework of our reality.

In 1996 a Canadian explorer located a 150-foot megalithic monument on Robinson Crusoe Island (formerly known as Más a Tierra), over 600km off the coast of Chile. This monument is believed to have been carved by the Ancient Mayan civilization and research has concluded that this designates the only vantage point in the Western hemisphere where one can witness both the transit of Venus across the Sun, and a total solar eclipse 160 days later on November 13th 2012, signalling the end of the Great Mayan Calendar which has popularly been interpreted as the end of the world as we know it. In July of this year I travelled to the Island to witness a partial solar eclipse from this monument. I am now looking to travel back to the Island to be present at the event in 2012.