Research Catalogue

[SCHOOL] Thesis of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague 2023 [DEPARTMENT] BA Fine Arts This paper delves into a deep exploration of the intersectionality of gender, sexuality, and identity of the transsexual woman, through a deeply personal narrative of self-reflection and critical inquiry. It confronts the societal constructs and power dynamics that shape the experiences of transgender women, particularly focusing on the themes of consumption, agency, and abjection within patriarchal structures. Drawing inspiration from the reflections of prominent transgender theorists and activists like Julia Serrano, Hunter Schafer and Susan Stryker, I navigate through the complexities of transitioning and self-discovery, weaving together philosophical insights with lived experiences. The paper investigates the constitutive nature of language and discourse in the formation of subjectivity, emphasizing the traumatic yet empowering effects of interpellation and performativity. Furthermore, it examines the abjectification of transgender bodies within societal norms and the dichotomy of desire and shame inherent in the construction of feminine identity. By engaging with concepts of transgression and phenomenology, the paper challenges traditional notions of gender and sexuality, offering a nuanced understanding of transgender embodiment as both a site of resistance and reclamation. Through intimate diary notes and theoretical discourse, I invite readers to confront the complexities of transgender existence and the transformative power of self-affirmation amidst societal erasure and increasing marginalization through out the western world. Ultimately, this paper seeks to foster dialogue and understanding surrounding transgender female experiences, advocating for a deeper understanding of the becoming and the constitution of becoming a woman, the sexual and social consequences and I hope the reader discovers parallels to their own existence and the sexualisation and constitution of it oneself.

at the end of the sentence, it rotted gathers written words and photos exploring how language is not purely about communication, but a medium of revealing hierarchy of bodies, as we assign and circulate signs to bodies - none of which are neutral. Moving between auto-theoretical poetry and essays on 104 pages, I write with an I using language to explore language itself from within; appropriating how words are never innocent, when the languages we speak are the ones with political value.

Research Paper of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague 2024. BA Photography. This research paper began to investigate photographers and visual artists who use their practice as a coping mechanism to deal and understand family dynamics and events connected to it. Drawing inspiration from personal narratives and correspondence with my father, the research navigates through themes such as generational silence, family, and Italian patriarchal culture.Through a reflective process, I believe that artistic practice can become a way to delve into the traumas that affect the family environment. In this way, it is possible to approach places and people we do not know well, such as our parents. This process not only facilitates healing but has also given me the tools to further develop my practice by using knowledge gained from the practice of other photographers and exploring the combination of different methods of writing. The research paper was the starting point of my collaboration with my father as it gave me the possibility to open a conversation with him and discover the untold things that lay between us. In the process of writing, I’ve used the paper as a way to remember the stories of my childhood and take inspiration for my photography. The elements that I’ve touched appon the stories came back later in the process of making allowing me to have a clearest idea of my further steps into the project. To understand this, I looked in someone else’s houses, experiencing the tradition of mourning on the Greek island through the photography of Ioanna Sakellaraki and the tenderness of a mother in understanding her children with the project of Sian Davey. I moved to different places, to different generations, entering the house of Larry Sultan, full of kitschy design and colorful wallpaper that sets the scene for a story of discovery. The driveway of Deanne Dikerman has seen many days and many goodbyes and the loving words and confession of Chantal Akerman who could not give more for her mother. I discovered the work of Tami Aftab in the little post-its stuck in the corners of a house and now part of the outside world. And then between laughter and tears, I entered the complicated house of Richard Billingham, between one glass of wine and another. Each of these artists showed their intimate space, in which we discover stories that do not belong to us but that can guide us to understanding where we are, what we feel, and what we suffer. There is a lot of vulnerability in being behind the camera while a parent is in front. To ask questions and start seeing them as people and not just as parents. To reveal the stories of pain that lie in the past and are hidden by the passing of time. We hide in the home to escape from what frightens us and then we are called to talk about what is hidden. Photography is a way in which we can reshape what has happened, a way in which we can understand the succession of events and build a home that hides nothing. In doing this research I opened up a conversation and brought the house outside. I broke a silence that had lasted too many years and found a passionate father who wanted to discard the past. And so, in staying in silence while you are willing to say things but don’t know where to start there is some tenderness and there is some strength. In unfolding the memories and breaking the silence I know I have found empathy instead of trauma, creating a common ground where climbing trees is a moment of rest somewhere in the past.

This thesis is an attempt to unfold multifaceted discussions in multispecies entanglements, focusing on the fundamental act of feeding—a process that extends beyond mere sustenance to become a critical interaction within the web of life. It interlaces a rich array of perspectives, combining academic research, artistic inquiry, and personal reflections to illuminate the diverse implications of feeding.

Thesis of the Royal Art Academy, The Hague, 2024 BA Fine Arts In the landscape of modern society, alienation is a common denominator to the experience of individuals. Whether this is due to society’s perpetual acceleration, or the experience of life through the ever-present lens of consumerism, alienation is an unmissable part of the contemporary human experience. This extends to the art world, where the chasm separating an ever-booming global market for the arts, and institutions struggling to get their pre-covid-19 visitor numbers highlight the disparities in the experience of art today. These disparities will ultimately transpire in the experience of the viewer. But how, and why can art be a catalyst for alienation in late-contemporary society? This Graduation Research Paper is an attempt at exploring the relationship between the artwork, the audience, and the artist, so as to attempt and provide a comprehensive notion of the ways in which relationships form around artworks, notably through communication theory. This GRP will also explore examples of elements of influence in the formation of communicative structures between the art and the audience. Notably, this paper will discuss the myth of the artist, and its influence as an authority in the experience of art, as well as the influence of spatial context on the reception of art. The paper will conclude that the artist possesses limited agency in the reception of their artworks, and that in order to provide an honest experience to a contemporary audience, the artist must seek to understand and deconstruct the codes which surround the audience's consumption of art.

Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten Thesis / Research document of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague 2024 MA Artistic Research A search for the special through oil electric and sentimental.

Thesis / Research Document of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2024 Interactive/Media/Design (I/M/D) As a child, moving from India to Germany changed the way I looked at and was perceived by society around me. Dancing between the extremes of complete integration and complete rejection of the culture, I found myself struggling with my sense of identity and belonging. By using TV and stories and other forms of media I was able to learn about my second culture and maintain my first culture. Looking through the lens of entertainment media I consumed throughout my childhood as well as the changes in narrative unfolding before my eyes as I grew up I started to wonder: How did the media I consumed shape my view of the world around me and the way that others perceived me? How much of that media had good/bad POC representation? How much of it was specifically South Indian? How much of it could I relate to?

Thesis / Research Document of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2023. Bachelor Interactive Media Design In this paper I aim to reveal the influence of echo chambers and the use of echo chambers as a potential tool used as a defense mechanism by the emergent artificial intelligence. We also look at the impact of such defense against our social construct and the availability of genuine human interaction in a world that is mostly digitally connected then physically . We investigate in this thesis some contemporary ideas about our current situation and or potential solution to pop up the bubble of i-reality, a term I used to refer to when thinking about customized reality bubble surrounding every digitally active person. My research journey starts with reminding us why we do this research, what is the urgency, and then delving into historical facts and researching contemporary or historical views, analyzing the algorithmic world of social networking and the surprising results of digital isolation in tiny echo-chambers. Thus , my research led to several conclusions of how we might be able to pop up the i-reality bubble and change the grim potential outcome of a world dominated by synthetic life to a world in which we human can cohabitate with a potential self aware synthetic life .

Thesis / Research Document of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2023. BA Interactive / Media / Design on the inner climate of the body This study investigates the relationship between the inner experiences of the human body and the state of balance of earth’s climate. The current state of the earth is worsening and the current way of living is not sustainable, climate change wise but also health and mental health wise. Changes need to be made to the way humans live their lives, for (men- tal) health, environment and survival of all beings. There are three stages in which this research takes place: meeting, befriending and becoming. The meeting chapter looks at the human body experiences of breathing, emotions and (graceful) movement and what these mean in relation- ship with environmental awareness. During befriending we dive into the human body’s microbiome, neurodiversity, mental illness, burn out, education and war and how these influence the climate crisis. The last chapter called becoming, looks into the philosophy of time and space in relationship with environmentalism and viewing the earth as one’s own body. The three stages are designed to help us understand the rela- tionship to the disturbance of the climate and our role in it. The research looks into methods to become aware of one’s body. For instance, Just being—breathing—gives the body and its microbiome time to heal. Another method being zooming out and metaphorically seeing the human bodies as the microbiome of earth. .

Friction between the other is not only inevitable but a necessary part of heterogeneous life. However, this friction can occur on a spectrum, from aggressive, violent manifestations to more gentle, subtle forms. This research explores the latter form of friction within the context of cultural events. There is a growing rhetoric that cultural events are solely for elitist circles, and if this discourse continues to permeate society, the transformative power of these events will be in jeopardy. To preserve and reinforce the transformative power of these spaces, this research asks: How do cultural events facilitate moments of gentle friction as a means to foster an understanding of 'the other'? This research began as an introspective exploration into the author's practice. By unpacking the conditions of conviviality, autonomy, and temporality that ensure the friction remains gentle, the research explores how these conditions can be spatially translated to strengthen the experience in these spaces. Concluding with a set of design tools that can be used to ensure the vitality of cultural events, encouraging diverse participation as a means to protect this necessary form of friction between the other.

Research Document of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2023. BA Photography. The research paper serves as a base for understanding the memories on a case of a person with dementia and their connections to the medium of photography. Photography is used as an attempt to retrieve my grandmother’s autobiographical memories which are often hard to retrieve. It is based on the assumption that every memory, no matter how vague, is still accessible by restoring to a proper process, similar to the latent image on the photographic film that becomes visible only after appropriate processing. Based on existing experimental memory research I constructed a method of finding a cue that can trigger specific memories in a conversation. Photographic images from the past were used as a base of the conversation. In most cases, they didn’t directly trigger involuntary memory, but they served as a starting point for a conversation, allowing my grandmother to start actively thinking about a period of her life. Due to dementia, the responses within one conversation were often repeated, yet after some time, the chain reaction of retrieving memories allowed her to remember some specific details. Her understanding of the fragility of memories was constantly present. On multiple occasions, she expressed that an artificial device, such as photography or writing, should be used to preserve them. The research doesn’t give a complete understanding of how memories and their retrieval work in general, but it gives a better understanding of how it can efficiently be done with my grandmother. The process I developed can be applied to other people if properly adjusted to them. I believe that essentially what counts is not what kind of cue we choose, but that we patiently take time to listen and guide conversations with some previous knowledge about their past.

This paper delves into how representation affects men’s entitlement to First-person shooters (FPS). Starting with a quick look at the history of computing and representation, I‘ll explore how FPS games have been marketed to men over time. I‘ll also research how e-sports and streaming contribute to shaping the image of a „hardcore“ gamer. Using Gamergate in 2014 and 2015 as a case study, we‘ll see how the „hardcore“ white male gaming community reacts when it feels like it is being attacked. The gaming industry has been targeting their games towards men for a long time, creating a space where they feel they can do whatever they want. Video games, for them, are a realm of endless possibilities. So, when it seems like someone is trying to impose on their (perceived) freedom (as seen in Gamergate), they‘re ready to fight back.

Over the past few years, fires are everywhere. The summer of 2023, the biggest wildfire recorded in Europe torched large swaths of Northern Greece; fire destroyed ecosystems and devastated local communities. This research paper is divided into two parts; the first part is based on fieldwork conducted in the fire-altered landscape in Evros, after spending time in Kirki village, hearing the stories of locals, having conversations with experts, and documenting my experiences living in the post-disaster land. It is a travelogue to a ground considered “ruined”, in a village slowly disappearing. The second part zooms in on Kirki’s cemetery, approaching it as the sole spiritual place for post-disaster relief in an effort to understand its importance for the community as well as the opportunities that arise in this burial ground. My travel was approached with a commitment to flexibility and was shaped by serendipity. In this multilayered condition of Northern Greece, it is an effort to consider the question of what’s left in the post-fire land of Kirki and what emerges in its damaged cemetery.

Thesis / Research Document of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2023. Master Artistic Research (MAR). Designed by Faina Faigin Reflecting on personal experiences of being part of some groups and excluded from others makes me wonder how we connect when we are already clinging. Communities can be either chosen or forced, or both, which raises questions about how these bonds are formed and when we no longer belong.

Thesis / Research Document of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2024. - MA Artistic Research This thesis is a fiction-based text which attempts to answer to the research question of how can art and archaeology contribute to the blending of the fictitious with the real, which has direct consequences on our understanding of (art) history.

The Past is Rotting in the Future: Exploring the Aesthetics of Absence in Daily Life, embarks on an exploration of absence within the human daily life, examining its manifestation through relations, processes, and objects. It seeks to understand how absence is not merely a void but a significant presence that shapes perception, memory, and imagination. Through a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates personal narrative with academic writing, this research investigates the ways in which absence is performed, textured, and materialized. Central to the thesis is how photography, as both a personal and artistic practice, serves as a critical medium for discussing and visualizing absence, navigating through personal experiences of loss, and broader philosophical questions about how absence influences and constitutes our understanding of the world.

[SCHOOL] Thesis / Research Document of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, 2024. [DEPARTMENT ] BA Interactive Media Design [SUMMERY] How can one unravel their relationship with a void through exploring their personal experience and knowledge of emptiness? Starting from the long lost frustration and unfulfillment for the inner void that I entail and wanting to define and understand what this void is and gain safety and peace in mind with it. By unraveling the complicated knot of the relationship between human and inner void, looking into different experiences of “missing” in my personal life and knowledge of emptiness, such as Korean cultural background, Language gap in translation, Definition of “Home”, Ambivalence in emotion, Moon jar, Clay and The connection in everything.