Research Catalogue

MA Seminar – Reflection and Method in Artistic Research This MA seminar explores how reflection and method intertwine in artistic research. Through a series of presentations and discussions, the seminar examines how artistic processes can generate knowledge and how this knowledge may be articulated and shared. Invited speakers – Marsha Bradfield (Central Saint Martins, London), Sergej Tchirkov (University of Bergen) and Jostein Gundersen (University of Bergen) – each present distinct approaches to artistic research, spanning visual art, music, and interdisciplinary practice. Their contributions highlight the diversity of methods and the critical importance of situated reflection within creative practice. The seminar concludes with a collective panel conversation focusing on how artistic research can balance openness and rigour, intuition and analysis, collaboration and individual voice.

A 2-part module by the MA Transdisciplinary Studies of ZHdK, Department Kulturanalysen und Vermittlung. Held by Anna Rubi & Eirini Sourgiadaki. Autumn 2023-Spring 2024 Colour perception varies, so do the semantics of colour terminology, for both sighted and blind individuals. The questions around colour perception from ophthalmology or neurobiology perspectives to cognitive and artistic ones, are infinite: Is there a universal human experience of the blue sky, the green grass and the brown soil? How is colour perceived in the brain, how is it translated into a communicable concept and how does it affect our perceived world, our mental and physical state? What is the role of colour in synesthesia? And most importantly, does colour have to do just with vision? In this module we work with the generation of blue colour on print, using the major light source available, the Sun. The Island of Amorgos is often referred to as “Le grand bleu” after the famous french film was shot at location. Its ancient name is “Melania”. “Melani”, the Greek word for ink, (“Melano” for dark blue, cyan) as it is said that in ancient times the place was covered with dark green flora. Our investigation begins exactly with this deep tint. We pay a visit to the famous monastery and the water oracle, walk the trails to observe the sensual -not only vision-based- shades of blue. In the spring term, we participate in local activities such as beach clean-up initiatives of the remote bays by local fishermen and their boats. We visit bee-hives and herb-distilleries, we work with the most basic bits and pieces of the island to capture its essence.

The Birdsong Trilogy is inspired by the playing and singing life of birds. Teater Fot has created three worlds of birdlife, Sparrow, Nightingale & Woodpecker, where the children are allowed, in different ways, to take part in the theatre, dance and music. Verbal language is not in focus, rather the language of listening, movement and music. Audience participation is adjusted to the needs of the different age groups and their specific play culture. This does not always mean bodily interaction, but rather that contact and communicative musicality is attended to. The questions of social relations and interactions in art and with children have been discussed throughout the whole project. The Birdsong Trilogy was coproduced with the regional theatre Trøndelag Teater in 2012, and Sparrow have toured internationally (America, China, South Africa, Italy, Finland). Teater Fot has been one of five companies to take part in the artistic research project SceSam - Interactive dramaturgies in performing arts for children (scesam.no), from 2012-16. Read more about The SceSam artistic research project, including The Birdsong Trilogy: Nagel, L., & Hovik, L. (2016). The SceSam Project – Interactive dramaturgies in performing arts for children. Youth Theatre Journal, 30 (2), 1-22. doi: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08929092.2016.1225611 Hovik, Lise (2015). Din lytting skal være din sang. Om inntoning, lytting og interaktivitet i scenekunst for små barn. I Strømsøe & Hammer (red.) Drama og skapende prosesser i barnehagen. Fagbokforlaget. (193-209).

The zoo is not a neutral site of animal display but a meticulously curated mise en scène where scenography dictates perception. This exposition reframes the zoological garden as a dispositif of control, foregrounding fabricated rock formations, artificial lighting, and concealed barriers as theatrical devices. Through square format photographic series that exclude animals, the work exposes the zoo’s fragmented geographies as staged spectacles designed for human imagination rather than ecological integrity. The project interrogates authorship, agency, and representation, inviting viewers to reconsider the zoo as a cultural theatre of estrangement and illusion.

Touring occupies a unique and often underexplored role in the careers of electroacoustic musicians, where the intersection of artistic, technical, and logistical challenges becomes especially pronounced. This article examines the practical realities of touring within the context of multichannel electroacoustic music, using Electric Audio Unit’s (EAU) performance in Tallinn as a case study. The article highlights the challenges of preparing for and executing a multichannel concert in an unfamiliar venue, including issues of spatialization, equipment compatibility, and time constraints. Additionally, it reflects on the broader demands placed on electroacoustic musicians, who must often juggle multiple roles to ensure the success of their performances.

This exposition examines the intersection of drawing, installation, and handmade objects informed by popular culture, spectacle, and visual symbolism. Central to the practice is the duality between physical materiality and virtual environments, a framework through which fictional realities are constructed and analyzed—often reflecting states of exhaustion, overload, and alienation characteristic of hyperactive contemporary culture. The use of low-budget materials and do-it-yourself methods introduces a deliberate tension between meticulous craftsmanship and intentional “amateurism,” while simultaneously subverting the capitalist logics of mass culture through the reuse and recontextualization of its visual language. Connecting introspective and social dimensions, the exposition offers not only an aesthetic experience but also a critical lens on everyday consumer routines, media-shaped reality, and processes of personal self-reflection.