2023 June, Submitted proposal 

Beyond Borders, Through Frames 

Exploring inclusive methods of producing animation (with humor) as a tool to generate awareness and representation with stories from and by immigrants.

 

This project seeks to explore the personal and social benefits of using animation and humor to address and create awareness around mental health and immigrant stories, while exploring alternative paths to filmmaking which are more inclusive and accessible. It will investigate the use of humor to bridge cultural divides and foster resilience, as well as exploring ways to create art without structural funding, combat public apathy, and better represent diversity in the film industry. 

 

After submitting the proposal and getting accepted,I moved to Genk in 2023. Due to bureaucratic reasons, my PhD officially began in January. Meanwhile I started to give Live Drawing classes to Re-Anima because the teacher who was originally planned to teach, had a schedule overlap and I was VERY available. 

 

Also started to do some literary scanning and learning about academic life and artistic research. I prepared a presentation for the research retreat in January where I narrowed down my original proposal. 

 

• 2024 January, presentation at the Research Retreat 

 

• How can ‘third space’, hybridity, translational culture, ‘in betweenness’  be inspired by and used as guidelines in all aspects and stages of animated filmmaking?

• What are benefits of ‘in-between’ thinking in the process of filmmaking and filmmakers?

• How could the ‘otherness’ be portrayed through animated speculative documentary with awareness of wider social acceptance, understanding and empathy towards these spaces and the people who inhabit them?

• What are the possible uses of hybrid humour within artistic research and filmmaking?

• Can the process of a ‘in-between’ production be visible in the product and distribution of the result?

 

In this research, I aim to;

Use psychoanalytical approach to remain reflective towards my personal and artistic desire for exploring the research topics.

Explore associative thinking and play as a lead for further investigation. 

Use humour as a communication tool throughout the various aspects and stages of the research.

Document my own psychoanalytical and artistic research through auto-theoretical mixed media essays in forms of publications, audiovisual content, interactive practices etc. 

 

This was my final slide. I used specifically picked words to redefine my project. I was highly focusing on the concept of ‘in-betweenness’ which later on faded away in my practical work, for no specific reason.  The feedback I remember from this presentation was that I was talking about humour, yet in not a funny way. This stuck with me. It was good feedback to get in the beginning of my journey of navigating my own ideas and voice through academia. 

 

• 2024 October, presentation at the EARN Conference

 

From January until October, I put thinking and defining  the research questions aside and focused on the artistic, practical, experimental sides of the research. I applied to speak at the EARN conference about my research, with a focus on drawing. I started by sharing my research topic and continued by showing artistic projects I was working on. I used humour in my way of presententing. 

 

‘My research is constantly changing, like me, like everyone of us. I want to share with you what I wrote in January 2024.  ( slide from research retreat January) The words that are important are yellow (third space’, hybridity, translational culture, filmmaking and filmmakers, investigation) , the words that are written in orange ( benefits of ‘in-between’ thinking, animated speculative documentary, social acceptance, understanding and empathy, possible uses of hybrid humour,exploring, publications, audiovisual content, interactive practices )are crucial words and the ones written in red (associative thinking and play uto-theoretical, mixed media essays,humour, reflective)  are the pillars of my research and me as an artist. And since then, the road of artistic research led me to meet a bunch of crazy artists. They are already dead. But I realised  they needed a woman amongst them. Maybe you know who they are? ( photo of surrealists) The reason why they did everything they did isn’t very different from mine. They lived in a time where the world was chaotic. Politically and violently disturbed. They wanted to shatter norms and go beyond oppressive boundaries of rationalism. It was a need. Similar to the need I feel today. How they did this was through playing. In all forms. They were on a quest to find magic and beauty within the unexpected and the supernatural, they searched in between and they did it all with a great sense of humour. What they also liked to do was redefine words. I realised that there were a few more red words in my research that didn’t make an appearance previously. So I want to share these words  with you today. These words have been defined and redefined in time. I want to share a few of the definitions and my own definition takes place somewhere in between.’

 

I continued to give different meanings of the words ‘Instinct’ ‘Automatic/sm’ ‘Dream’ ‘Play’’. And went on to present how I approach my live drawing classes and then my own practice of automatic animation. The feedback after this presentation was strongly emphasising on the fact that I had used a quote from Lacan where I wanted to give a bit of a comparassent between animation and psychoanalysis. It was made clear to me that it would be within my benefit to research more 21st century feminist psychoanalytic thinkers. The feedback continued into conversations about psychoanalysis. My outtake overall was that my research isn’t directly linked to any psychoanalytical practices or theory, but is highly inspired and influenced by certain ideas. I decided to steer my boat away from using such terms and being more critical when I am picking the people I am referencing.