Research Proposal - Version 3

I decided that it would be best to go through my research proposal again and rewrite it putting it into stages that would be beneficial for the development of my practice.

I have broken it down into three stages:

1. Neurodivergence in Contemporary Art

2. Neurodivergent Portraiture and Layered Identity

3. Visual Phenomena and the Phenomenological Encounter

These stages will help me focus on the position of neurodivergence within the contemporary arts, as well as the content and context of my practice, leading into an overall goal of audience engagement and immersion.

Alongside a rewrite into stages, I have tweaked the wording of the previous research proposals versions 1 and 2 in hopes of making it easier to follow and understand.

This research is engaged with neurodivergent traits and how a neurodivergent identity/personality can be portrayed. I am particularly interested in how the breakup of one's self can be shown through the use of layering in both a two-dimensional (2D), and three-dimensional (3D) body of work. Through contextual and studio-based research, I will develop a body of work which utilises my own neurodivergent mind, and how my approach links to other contemporary artists' investigations into ‘the self’.

My studio practice is grounded in a multidisciplinary approach, incorporating drawing, painting, photography, and screen-printing. Each medium contributes distinct formal and conceptual qualities to the work, allowing for a dynamic engagement with image-making processes. Drawing and painting facilitate a meticulous, detail-oriented practice, often leaning toward realism. These methods encourage a slower pace and a high degree of control over the creative process. In contrast, photography introduces a more immediate and flexible mode of working. It serves both documentary and theatrical functions, allowing for the capture of spontaneous moments as well as carefully staged scenarios. Photographic images frequently recur in my broader practice, being used as visual references, compositional studies, or foundations for further manipulation/editing. This cross-pollination between photography and other media plays a key role in the layering of visual content, supporting an iterative and responsive studio process. Screen-printing is a relatively recent addition to my practice, which provides a more hands-on approach to image manipulation as well as image reproduction. It is an explorative corner of my practice as I learn more about its capabilities and possibilities.

Beyond the studio, my research extends into observational and experiential methods of inquiry. Activities such as listening to music, walking through urban and rural environments, and attending exhibitions serve as informal but essential modes or research. These experiences offer diverse sensory inputs, which not only inform the compositions and spatial dynamics within my work, but also inform my interest into phenomenological art and sensory engagement. Working and engaging with the wider creative community is also central to my practice, as it provides insight into how other artists consider audience engagement and interaction.

In my artistic practice, I frequently engage with theoretical and scientific studies regarding colour and visual phenomenon. These investigations have led me to the Samoiloff effect, a colour phenomenon of which I have refined into a technique revealing hidden and/or distorted images through the interplay of RGB and CMY colour systems. These phenomenological effects can be used to produce both interactive and/or immersive experiences to an audience. While visual phenomena such as the Samoiloff effect remains as an area of interest, this project builds upon the portrayal of neurodivergent views of portraiture, and how such content can be utilised to explore fragmented identity within a phenomenological realm.

Research Questions

This project unfolds in three interrelated stages, each building upon the previous, moving from contextual inquiry to personal creative practice, and culminating in the use of visual phenomena.

Stage 1: Neurodivergence in Contemporary Art

The first stage focuses on contextual and theoretical research into how neurodivergent identity is understood and expressed within the work of other contemporary visual artists.

• How is neurodivergence represented and explored in contemporary art practices?

• In what ways can contemporary art function as a tool for communicating non-normative cognitive perspectives?

• How does the discourse around neurodivergence challenge traditional narratives of artistic identity and authorship?

Stage 2: Neurodivergent Portraiture and Layered Identity

Building on these insights, the second stage will focus on how neurodivergent experience can inform the field of portraiture. It will explore the use of layering as a means of expressing neurodivergent traits in relation to identity, for example identity masking.

• How can a fragmented or shifting sense of self, as experienced through neurodivergence, be used to inform and influence portraiture?

• In what ways can the disruption or traditional portrait formats reflect neurodivergent modes of thinking or being?

• How might my own neurodivergent cognition inform approaches to self-representation?

• What role can layering play in representing multiplicity, masking, and internal dissonance in the portrayal of identity?

Stage 3: Visual Phenomena and the Phenomenological Encounter

The final stage of research integrates technical and perceptual investigations with the aim to embody neurodivergent identity through shifting visibility and phenomenological engagement.

• How might the integration of phenomenological effects support an understanding of neurodivergence? and how can these phenomenological effects (such as visual distortion) be used to embody and communicate neurodivergent identity?

The significance of this project lies in its exploration of how layered visual language can reflect a complex, shifting sense of self, and how this language might evolve through both traditional and experimental image-making processes. By working across drawing, painting, photography, and screen-printing, I aim to examine how materiality, repetition, and visual disruption can create tension between clarity and concealment. These approaches are particularly relevant in a contemporary context where identity and representation are increasingly understood as unstable and multifaceted.

This project considers how perceptual effects (such as those produced through the Samoiloff effect and other colour-based phenomena) can challenge fixed viewing positions and invite interactive or immersive modes of engagement. In doing so, it contributes to wider conversations around phenomenological and participatory art practices. The works layered construction, both materially and conceptually, positions the viewer as an active participant, navigating image, surface, and illusion.

Beyond technical exploration, the project reflects a broader inquiry into how portraiture can respond to, and shape its own spatial and sensory context. By incorporating experiential research–through walking, listening, and observing–I aim to further understand how external environments and embodied experience influence both the making and the reception of portraiture. Through this, the project seeks to expand the role of portraiture beyond representation, positioning it as a site for negotiation between inner experience, external form, and the viewer’s perceptual encounter.

• Batchelor, David. “Chromophobia,” 2000. https://approachestopainting.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/163577202-chromophobia-david-batchelor.pdf.

• Crary, Jonathan. “Techniques of the Observer on Vision and Modernity in the Nineteenth Century,” 1990. https://monoskop.org/images/3/34/Crary_Jonathan_Techniques_of_the_Observer_1990 pdf.

• Merleau-Ponty, Maurice. “Phenomenology of Perception,” 1945. https://voidnetwork.gr/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Phenomenology-of-Perception-by-Maurice-Merleau-Ponty.pdf.

• TED. “Olafur Eliasson: Playing with Space and Light.” YouTube Video. YouTube, August 7, 2009. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCGuG0uT6ks.

• www.gooses.co.nz. “The History of Screen Printing,” n.d. https://www.gooses.co.nz/about/History+of+Screen+Printing.html.