Research Catalogue

This thesis investigates how narrative agency can emerge collaboratively between human, technological, and more-than-human agents within artistic re- search. In response to the limitations of anthropocentric storytelling, it poses the central question: How does narrative agency emerge in co-creative processes involving human, technological, and more-than-human forces? The research adopts an experimental, site-specific methodology grounded in transduction-the translation of one form of data or energy into another-to enga- ge with the expressive capacities of more-than-human entities. Three iterations form the core of the investigation: a photogrammetric and sonic exploration of De Nieuwe Passage (The Hague), a real-time collaboration with storm Conall in a city forest, and a durational transduction of Tokyo's soundscape into photo- graphic form. In each case, technologies such as cameras, code, and sensors are treated not as neutral tools, but as hybrid agents participating in narrative formation. The results demonstrate that narrative meaning can emerge through intra-active, multisensory processes rather than through fixed representation. Each experi- ment reveals how environmental and technological agents shape the unfolding of story, whether through the rhythm of human flows, the shifting forces of weather, or the temporal layers of urban sound. This thesis concludes that artistic research can facilitate non-anthropocentric storytelling by creating conditions for narrative to arise through entangled rela- tions. It recommends a methodological shift toward collaborative, sensory-ba- sed practices that decenter the human artist and embrace the co-authorship of technological and environmental systems.

PERFORMING PROCESS is a research group within the Artistic Research Centre at Nottingham Trent University, co-led by Emma Cocker and Danica Maier, both Associate Professors in Fine Art. We ask: what is at stake in focusing on the process of practice — the embodied, experiential, relational and material dimensions of artistic making, thinking and knowing. What is the critical role of uncertainty, disorientation, not knowing and open-ended activity within artistic research? How might a process-focused exploration intervene in and offer new perspectives on artistic practice and research, perhaps even on the uncertain conditions of contemporary life? PERFORMING PROCESS has origins in a number of critical precedents: Summer and Winter Lodges originating within the fine art area (practice-research residencies or laboratories dedicated to providing space-time for making-thinking and for exploring the process of practice), collaborative artistic research projects such as No Telos, for exploring the critical role of uncertainty, disorientation, not knowing and open-ended activity; the DREAM seminar series with PhD researchers which focuses specifically on the ‘how-ness’ of practice research by asking - How do we do what we do?

Understanding the complexities of current European society is impossible, especially for the younger generations, without knowing and understanding the complex historical developments and narratives. In most EU member states teaching history in the system of formal education is predominantly focused on national, if not patriotic history narratives. The consequence of this approach is that young people have a lack of knowledge about a wider, transnational and shared European history.

This exposition contains the complete artistic output and accompanying reflective documentation of the artistic research doctoral project I conducted at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna between 2021 and 2024. Free improvisation in music offers a unique field for exploring how artistic practices develop through embodied engagement, critical reflection, and collaborative experimentation. This research focuses particularly on the process of practicing within this context, tracing the evolution of specific exercises and preparatory methods. These were initially tested in collaborative projects with other musicians and later refined through a series of workshops. A central theme that emerged throughout this process is the role of reflection—both musical and verbal—as a vital component of artistic development. This realization culminated in the project Performing Reflection, which established a dialogical relationship between musical improvisation and reflective discourse. The work contributes to a deeper understanding of how structured exercises and reflective practices can support and expand the art of free improvisation, offering new perspectives on its preparation, pedagogy, and performance.

This research consists of the artistic and organizational process of creating a workshop called “Experimental music for children”. In this exposition you can read about how I and my fellow musicians created a workshop for children through eight workshop sessions that took place between February 2024 and January 2025. This resulted in an interactive workshop with children about co-creation, exploration and art making. In addition, this research explores how such a project affects my personal artistic development. In this exposition, you can read about the construction and development of the workshops, and how they evolved into a concrete artistic project. The data collected from the workshops was organised through the merging of critical reflection and analysis. The theoretical part of this research is based on literature and observations of experimental music, art for children and similar experimental music projects. These references serve as material for developing and concretising the artistic vision while shaping the project and ensuring its place in the artistic field as well as the realm of educational research.

One of the aspects Jimmie Blanton (1918–42), best known as Duke Ellington’s bassist between 1939 and 1941, has been most praised for is his tone, particularly its loudness, which has been characterised as “outsized,” “resonant,” “roaring,” and “huge.” While Brian Priestley (2009, 85) observed that tone is often “thought of as god-given,” I wanted to understand why and how Blanton’s tone was (perceived as being) different from that of his peers. I examined several possible impact factors, such as his performance technique and instrument, but found none differed significantly from those of his fellow bassists. Eventually, I (partially) found the answer by recreating Blanton’s music. In this exposition, I examine an experimental recording session by the Brussels Jazz Orchestra and myself on bass in which we recreated the circumstances of a 1930s–1940s Ellington performance, both live and in the studio, in a historically informed way, for example, by using historically appropriate instrumentation, repertoire, location, recording set-up, and performance practice. The outcome revealed that specific changes in the orchestra’s seating plan were key to Blanton’s perceived superior tone. Using media samples, I review the preparation, recording process, and results, drawing on a combination of visual analysis of historical photographs, complete participant observation, comparative auditory analysis, and formal and informal (semi-structured) interviews with participants.