About
I am an artist, writer and yoga teacher. My recent practice involves performance, film, dance, photography and text, and my work has been performed, exhibited and published in Europe and the US. I have spoken at numerous conferences and events, including the Museum for the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, the Medical Museum in Copenhagen, College Arts Association and the Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society. When I am not following Freud, Lacan and Marx’s footsteps with my camera or creating performance works as part of my Athenaeum Research Fellowship at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, I teach postgraduate students at Transart Institute. I have worked with many renowned choreographers and companies (Including Michael Clark, Natasha Gilmore and Janice Parker). I am an Ashtanga Yoga and Pranayama teacher and practice most days. With Ian Macbeth, I founded the Dialectical Materialist Book Group. My book ‘Make Me Yours: How Art Seduces’ (Cambridge Scholars, 2016) investigates psychoanalytic approaches to understanding objects of seduction. I am currently immersed in an interdisciplinary project exploring knowledge and the body of the hysteric.
Employment
- 2018: Professorship, Research and Interdisciplinary Work, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
- 2017–Present: Athenaeum Research Fellow at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
- 2017–Present: Freelance Ashtanga Yoga and Pranayama teacher.
- 2016: Reader in Contemporary Art and Performance Practice by the University of Glasgow.
- 2015–2018: Co-director (together with Penny Chivas), @TheGlasgowJam, an organisation providing a creative space to explore multidisciplinary arts.
- 2005–2017: Academic Coordinator (PGR), The Glasgow School of Art. Read about my job in the 2010-2011 GSA Postgraduate Prospectus (pp. 38–39. PDF 510KB) and Flow Magazine, Issue 11, Autumn/Winter 2007 (p. 5. PDF 919KB).
- 2010–present: Summer faculty member, advisor and supervisor, MFA and PhD residency program. Transart Institute.
- 2009–2015: Course tutor, ‘Analysis and Self-Analysis’ and ‘Psychoanalysis in Art and Culture’ postgraduate electives (30 week course), The Glasgow School of Art.
- 2010–2012: Associate Lecturer, MRes Arts Practice, Chelsea College of Art.
- 2002–2005: Student Adviser, Postgraduate Students, University of the Arts London.
- 2001–2005: Research Degrees Coordinator, Wimbledon School of Art.
- 1999–2000: Researcher, Arts about Manchester.
- 1998–1999:Education Programme Officer, Guggenheim Bilbao Museum.
Education
- 2005–2010: Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Cultural Communication and Computing Research Institute (C3RI), Art and Design Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University – Title: Make me yours: the psychodynamics of seduction through works of art. Supervisory team: Dr Sharon Kivland, Professor Tom Fisher, Professor Steve Dutton. Examiners: Professor Jane Rendell (Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL), Dr Peter Jones (SHU)2004–2005: Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Art, Design and Communication,Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design.
- 2000–2001: Master of Fine Art: Drawing, Wimbledon School of Art. Read my dissertation on Precarious Art.
1995–2000: Licenciada en Bellas Artes (BA (Hons) Fine Art equivalent), Universidad del Pais Vasco, Spain.
Professional development
- 2018: Gob Squad Super Night Shot process workshop, National Theatre of Scotland, 05.08.2018
- 2018: 50-hr Yin Yoga Foundations Teacher Training
- 2017: In-Depth Development Training, Kia Naddermier, Mysore Yoga Paris, 60hrs.
- 2016–2017: Classical Yoga School, 200RYS Teacher Training programme, accredited by Yoga Alliance.
- 2015: New Jammers 2015 programme, with Penny Chivas and Tom Pritchard, funded by Creative Scotland. Read Penny’s article about the programme in Contact Quarterly, Summer/Fall 2015 Vol. 40.2. Read Article 19’s feature on the programme. Read a summary after our completion in Contact Quarterly, Winter/Spring 2016 Vol. 41.1.
- 2012: Standing Stones Professional Development intensive week with Tom Pritchard, supported by Creative Scotland, Conflux and Dance House.
- 2002–2003: Supervising Research Degrees in Art, Design and Communication (SEDA accredited), Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design.
Exhibitions and performances
2024
- Choreographic framing for Inter-sections, original performance devised by Contemporary Performance Practice,13–15.03.24 2024, Chandler Studio Theatre, Glasgow
2023
- Pen Pals, with Marie-Claire Forté. Project commissioned by Take Me Somewhere, Glasgow, and CCOV, Montreal. January-April. Event on 29.04.23
2021
- We Are Earth, performed as part of Walker and Bromwich’s Encampment of Eternal Hope, Edinburgh Royal Botanical Gardens, 03.07.21
- Serpent of Capitalism by Walker and Bromwich, promenade protest performed on to welcome Climate Pilgrims to Glasgow’s COP26, the United Nations Conference on Climate Change, 30.10.21
- Breath at the End of the World, ntimate performance as part of the RCS Climate Portal for COP26, the United Nations Climate Conference, 02.11.21
- We Are Air, performed as part of Walker and Bromwich’s Encampment of Eternal Hope, COP26 events at the Briggait in Glasgow, 08.11.21
2019
- Beautiful Materials, a performance and screening as part of the Beautiful Materials typeface launch by Nicola Atkinson, 01.02.2019
2018
- Showgirl Manifesto, Group exhibition, Market Gallery, Huddersfield, as part of temporary Contemporary, 11-27.10.2018
- Warmed Air, Anatomical Museum, University of Edinburgh, as part of the Edinburgh Arts Festival, 10.08.2018
- Os Voy a Contar mi Vida [I’m Going To Tell You About My Life] by Esther Ferrer, as part of Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art, The Pearce Institute, 22.04.18.
- I gladly strained my eyes to follow you, by Shauna McMullan, in Cabinet Interventions, group exhibition and performances as part of Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art, Pollok House, 20.04-07.05.18
2017
- Body Building [group exhibition], Market Gallery 10.11.17
- ‘Jam’, an exhibition of works by Dominic Snyder [curator], Glad Cafe, Glasgow, 05-29.10.17
2016
- ‘Walking:holding’, devised by Rosana Cade. Forest Fringe, Edinburgh, 17–20.08.16. Read Rosana’s piece in The Guardian here. Read Lyn Gardner’s review of the Forest Fringe here. Read Billy Barrett’s review here. Read Ian Abbott’s review here.
- ‘The End’, choreographed by Jack Webb, Tramway, Glasgow, 10-11.06.16
- ‘Ida’, Buzzcut, Pearce Institute, Glasgow, 6-10.04.16
2015
- ‘Don’t Say Anything’, Hysteria #6 Eruption, Hackney Attic, 28.08.15.
- ‘What do you want from me?‘, performative lecture, UNFIX Festival of Performance and Ecology, 12.07.15.
- ‘It was Spring when I was in Athens’, performance with Jetties (Birthe Jørgensen and Madeleine Campbell) as part of Birthe Jørgensen’s solo exhibition Riotous Exuberant Green and the Dutiful Beating of One’s Heart, 1 Royal Terrace, Glasgow, 22.06.15
- ‘This house has been far out at sea’, group exhibition, Glasgow Open House Festival, Laurieston Arches, Glasgow, 02-04.05.2015
- Alternative Maternals [Curator], artists: Deborah Dudley (USA), Linda Duvall (Canada), Jeca Rodriguez Colón (Puerto Rico), Miriam Schaer (USA), Valerie Walkerdine (UK), 01–08.06.15, London South Bank University, London, as part of Motherhood and Creative Practice conference, with Bracha Ettinger, Mary Kelly and Faith Wilding as keynote speakers.
- Dark Days, a socially engaged artwork by Ellie Harrison, Gallery of Modern Art, Glasgow, 13.02.15
- March of Women, a participatory work by Anna Birch, Glasgow Women’s Library, 07.03.15
2014
- Alternative Maternals [Curator], artists: Deborah Dudley (USA), Linda Duvall (Canada), Jeca Rodriguez Colón (Puerto Rico), Miriam Schaer (USA), Valerie Walkerdine (UK), 03–09 August 2014, Lindner Project Space, Berlin. Read PDF [1MB].
- The River, choreographed by Natasha Gilmore and performed with the Barrowland Ballet, The Briggait, Glasgow, 20 and 21 July 2014.
- SisGo, choreographed by Fleur Darkin and performed with Scottish Dance Theatre, Tramway, Glasgow, 9 and 10 May 2014.
- Reading hysteria between laughter and crying, performance as part of the Acts Re-Acts festival, Wimbledon Space, London, 19 March 2014. Read a review.
- Glory, Choreographed by Janice Parker. Performed at Tramway, Glasgow, 5–10 March 2014.
2013
- The Unreliable Reader, performance as part of ‘Reading as Art: turning the Pages of Psychology‘, Bloomsbury Festival, Senate House Library, London, 15 October 2013. Download Programme [1.3MB]
- Standing Stones, development opportunity and performance with Tom Pritchard and Victoria Evans. The Briggait, Glasgow. 21 June 2013.
- A Conversation with Carmel, Barrowland Ballet, Tramway, Glasgow, 05.06.13
- Hysteria Clinic, choreographed by Gypsy Charms, Grand Ole Opry, Glasgow, 24.03.13
- Girlfriend, choreographed by Ruth Mills, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow, 19.01.13
2012
- The Barrowlands Project, choreographed by Michael Clark, London 2012 Cultural Olympiad, 8–9.09.2012
- Making Music Overture, choreographed by Rosina Bonsu, Merchant City Festival, 28.07.12
2011
- Summer’s Day, choreographed by Tom Pritchard, and Magritte Inspired, choreographed by Jane Simpson, Merchant City Festival, 24.07.11
- ‘Interview with an Artist’, interview performance by Kristian Al Droubi, from Via Negativa, 15 March 2011, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow.
- Bealtainne, The Glue Factory, Glasgow, 30 April–14 May 2011
- Carnival of the Animals, choreographed by Ruth Mills, Go Dance 2011, Theatre Royal, Glasgow, 27.01.11
2010
- As We Speak, Experimental Film screening event as part of 2010 Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art, Stereo, Glasgow, 28.04.2010.
- Half-knowledge/half…. Grace and Clark Fyfe Gallery, Glasgow, 12-28.04.2010.
- Dancer in Emeli Sande’s 2010 tour film backdrop, Directed by Ian Robertson, Cut! Film making.
2008
- A Case of Seduction. End Gallery, Sheffield, 19–25 May 2008.
2006
- Gift, Museum MAN, Liverpool, UK.
- Objects in Waiting, The End Gallery, Sheffield, UK
- Post It, Atkinson Gallery, Southport, UK
2004
- Staff show, The Gallery, Wimbledon School of Art, London, UK
2003
- Art in Heaven, St Mary’s Church, Brighton and Hove, UK
- To all the lovers and sweethearts we will never meet, House Gallery, London, UK
2001
- Mission, Wimbledon School of Art, London, UK.
- The Invisible City, Wimbledon Library Gallery, London, UK
- Ausentes 2001, Sala Baracaldo, Spain.
2000
- Atopia, performance exhibition, Sheffield Subway, UK.
- Ausentes 2000, Sala Araba, Vitoria, touring to Baracaldo and Castro, Spain.
- Café Tangente, Boulevard, Miranda de Ebro, Spain.
1999
- Inter-national, FBAUP, Porto, Portugal.
1998
- Encuentros, solo show, Mina Espazio, Bilbao, Spain.
- Little Works, Abanto-Ciervana, Spain.
- Primero de Mayo, Boulevard, Bilbao, Spain.
- Group show ’98. La Bolsa, Bilbao, Spain.
1997
- Encerrona, Mina Espazio, Bilbao, Spain.
- Group show ’97, La Bolsa, Bilbao, Spain.
Books
- The Hysteric: Outline of a Figure, London: Routledge, 2023. With Eleanor Bowen
- Make Me Yours: How Art Seduces, Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016
- Madness, Women and the Power of Art, edited by Frances Davies and Laura Gonzalez, Oxford: Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2013.
Book chapters
- ‘Making Ghosts Heard’, Hysterical Methodologies in the Arts. Rising in Revolt, Johanna Braun (ed), London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2021, pp. 257–270
- ‘Twenty-seven thoughts on one breath’, On Care, Rebecca Jagoe and Sharon Kivland (eds), Hastings: Ma Bibliothèque, 2020, pp. 69-75
- ‘Blueprint for a ghost’, with Dr Eleanor Bowen, Maternal in creative work: Intergenerational discussions on motherhood and art, Elena Marchevska and Valerie Walkerdine (eds), London: Routledge, 2019, pp. 83-96.
- ‘Hosting Hysteria’, Translating across Sensory and Linguistic Borders: Intersemiotic Journeys between Media, Madeleine Campbell and Ricarda Vidal (eds), London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019, pp. 167-184.
- ‘Work of Art as Analyst as Work of Art’, Transpositions Aesthetico-Epistemic Operators in Artistic Research, Michael Schwab (ed), Ghent: Orpheus Institute, 2018, pp. 75–95. Free ebook here.
- ‘Crossing the Cyprus Divide Armed with Pen and Paper’, with Dr Myria Christophini (main author). Peace as a global language: Explorations of peace in practice: Selected Papers, M. Parrish & R. Richardson (eds), Kobe: Peace as a Global Language, 2018, pp. 289-359
- ‘Reading as Creative Practice’. The Adapt-r Creativity Book, Brussels: KU Leuven, 2017, pp. 169–177.
- ‘Seduction in Works of Art’. Seduction in Popular Culture, Psychology, and Philosophy, ed by Constantino Pereira Martins, Fabrizio Macagno, Manuel José Damásio, Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2016, pp. 165-187. Table of contents available here.
- ‘Between laughter and crying’, co-written with Dr Eleanor Bowen. Madness, Women and the Power of Art, edited by Frances Davies and Laura Gonzalez, Oxford, Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2013, pp. 197–234.
- ‘The Hysteric as Mad: Unfolding an Exquisite Corpse’, co-written with Dr Eleanor Bowen. Beyond these Walls: Confronting Madness in Society, Literature and Art [ebook], edited by Helen Goodman, Bernadette V. Russo and Joana Zózimo, Oxford, Inter-Disciplinary Press, 2013.
- Juicy Salif as a Cultish Totem. Managing Creativity: Exploring the Paradox, Barbara Townley & Nic Beech (eds), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010, pp. 287-309. Download PDF (1.93MB).
Journals
- ‘Hosting in the first person’, Proceedings of Carpa7: Elastic Writing in Artistic Research, ISBN 978-952-353-052-2, Nivel 17, Theatre Academy University of the Arts Helsinki, 2022
- Madeleine Campbell and Laura González,‘“Wozu Image?” / What’s the Point of Images? Exploring the Relation between Image and Text through Intersemiotic Translation and Its Embodied Experience’, Open Cultural Studies, Vol. 2, Issue 1, 2018, pp. 686–699.
- Laura Bissell, Mona Bozdog, Laura Gonzalez and Aby Watson, eds. Scottish Journal of Performance Special Issue Art of Care, Vol.5, Issue 1, 2018.
- Laura Bissell, Mona Bozdog, Laura Gonzalez and Aby Watson, Editorial, Scottish Journal of Performance Special Issue Art of Care, Vol.5, Issue 1, 2018, pp. 5-11.
- Laura Bissell, Laura Gonzalez, Dee Heddon and Simon Murray, Afterword: Acts of Care Scottish Journal of Performance Special Issue Art of Care, Vol.5, Issue 1, 2018, pp. 179-184.
Papers and articles
2020
- The [Dis]appearance of Hysteria , an essay for The Polyphony, a Medical Humanities Web Platform, hosted by the Institute for Medical Humanities at Durham University with financial support from the Wellcome Trust, 14.04.20
- A Kind, Deep Breath, The Green Room, RCS at Home, 20.05.20
2019
- Music for Moths, a reading of a collage by Pum as part of her exhibition Earth Echo Affective Reflection in Project Ability, Glasgow, 08.03–27.04.19
2015
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- Body Anxiety: Woman As Bearer Of The Look, Furtherfield, 24.03.15
2014
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- ‘Trance art and other possessions’, co-authored with Christopher Danowski, ELSE Journal, Issue 0, October 2014, pp. 140–147.
- ‘Other Mothers’, curatorial statement for the exhibition Alternative Maternals, artists: Deborah Dudley (USA), Linda Duvall (Canada), Jeca Rodriguez Colón (Puerto Rico), Miriam Schaer (USA), Valerie Walkerdine (UK), 03–09.08.2014, Lindner Project Space, Berlin. Read PDF (1MB).
2013
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- ‘Trance art and other possessions’, co-authored with Christopher Danowski, Trans-What? conference proceedings, 28 July 2013. Part of the Transartfest Art Biennial, 27.07–9.08.2013, Berlin.
2011
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- What’s the First Thing You Ever Made, Laura Gonzalez? The Project Room Off Paper, 2011. Read it here.
2010
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- ‘Kissing Exposed to the Gaze’. New Associations, issue 3, summer 2010, p. 15. Read PDF (1.7MB).
- ‘Cities that fold in on themselves’. In Persico, G. curator (2010) Urban Origami. Exhibition catalogue. PM Gallery & House, 1.07 – 29.08.2010. London: Arttra, pp. 8-9. Read PDF (70KB).
- Stranger, Seducer. In Conference Proceedings from Transmission: Hospitality. 1-3.07.2010, Sheffield Hallam University.
2009
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- An artist reflects on an artist’s Biennale, in ‘Arttra’. 2009. Read PDF (520KB).
- Escape to Your Unconscious. In New Escapologist Magazine, Issue 2, 2009. Download PDF (822KB).
2007
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- The line, the look and the gaze. In Persico, G. curator, Isobar. Exhibition catalogue. Fieldgate Gallery, 20.10 – 11.11.2007. London: Arttra. pp. 18-21. Read PDF (696KB).
2005
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- ‘A Biennial in Venice‘, in The Mind’s Construction Quarterly, 2005. Read PDF (130KB).
- ‘White worship: the iPod‘, in Arttra, 2005. Read PDF (99KB).
- ‘The Edge of Emptiness; an essay on Thomas Joshua Cooper’, in Arttra, 2005. Read PDF (100KB).
2004
2003
2002
- ‘Parchu (to Honour)’, in Metamorphosis, an exhibition of works by Jude James and Evi Chamouratidou, PINAKOQHKH MARGARH, 2002. Read PDF (438KB).
Printed works
- Cover of ELSE journal (Untitled, composite image created with Christopher Danowski), inaugural issue 0, April 2014.
- B (page as dance stage), printed work in Crux Desperationis, issue 5 (PDF 3.7MB), Montevideo, January 2014, p. 12.
- Provocatrice II, printed work in The Brooklyn Review 29th issue, 2012.
- The Scene of a Crime, 2HB Vol. 10, edited by Francis McKee and Louise Shelley, July 2011, Centre for Contemporary Arts, Glasgow. Download PDF (1.4MB)
- Author for The Black Merkin, part of the Bad Romance project by the New Society of Dilettanti. Launched at Collective Gallery in Edinburgh on 20.08.2011. Download PDF (2.7MB)
- Untitled (Mind / Body), The Mind’s Construction magazine, pilot issue, London, December 2004, pp. 26-27. Download PDF (708KB).
Book reviews
- ‘Performance in a Pandemic: Book Review’, The Polyphony, 29.01.24. https://thepolyphony.org/2024/01/29/performance-in-a-pandemic/
- ‘Mind the gap!: Working papers on practice-based doctoral research in the creative arts and media’, Visual Studies, 2017, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1472586X.2017.1320126
- We take pictures, therefore we are. A review of Mike Robinson and David Picard’s The Framed World: Tourism, Tourists and Photography. Times Higher Education, No. 1,923, 19-25 November 2009, p. 50. Download PDF (488KB).
- Expedition. A journey around the west coast in search of tropical Scotland by Melanie Carvalho. Art & Research, Volume 1. No. 1. Winter 2006/07. Read PDF (117KB).
Conference contributions
2024
- ‘Resistance and Persistence’, Society for the Social History of Medicine Biennial Conference: Resistance, The Centre of the Social History of Health and Healthcare (CSHHH), University of Strathclyde, 16-19.07.24. Programme and abstracts
2023
- ‘Prana and the Gut’, Modernity and the Gut, Scottish Gut Project, Kelvinhall, University of Glasgow, 27-28.04.23. Read the abstracts book
2021
- ‘Hosting the First Person’, CARPA 7: Elastic Writing in Artistic Research, Performing Arts Research Center (Tutke), Uniarts Helsinki Theatre Academy, 28.08.2021
2020
- Moderator of the session on Performance Research: Epistemologies of Action. NEXUS #1: IN/ACTION, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 2-4 December 2020
- ‘The [dis]appearance of hysteria’, Representing Women’s Health, University of Glasgow, 12.06.2020
2018
- ‘Reading/gHosting Hysteria’, #masshysteria: Hysteria, Politics and Performance Stretegies, UCLA, 01.11.2018
- ‘Looking West, Looking East’, Viewing Pleasure and Being a Showgirl, How Do I Look? symposium, as part of Alison J. Carr’s book launch, University of Huddersfield, 19.06.18.
2017
- ‘Embodying hysteria as caring for the self’, (e)motion, Cultural Literacy in Europe second biennial conference, Warsaw, 10-12.05.17
- ‘Take Care of Yourself’, provocation as part of ‘The Art of Care-full Practice’ symposium, organised by Dee Heddon, Simon Murray, Laura Bissell and Laura González. Take Me Somewhere festival of Performance, Glasgow 05.03.17
2016
- ‘What does Hysteria want from me?, 33rd PsyArt International Conference on Psychology and the Arts, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, 29.06–04.07.16
2015
- ‘The Object as Witness’ (co-written with Dr Eleanor Bowen), Material Culture in Action: Practices of making, collecting and re-enacting art and design, The Glasgow School of Art, 07–08 September 2015.
- ‘Mothers, Daughters and Cryptophores’ (co-written with Dr Eleanor Bowen), Motherhood and Creative Practice, London South Bank University, 01–02 June 2015.
2014
- Chair of the open session ‘Just what is it that makes studio PhDs so different, so appealing?’, College Arts Association, 12 – 15 February 2014, Chicago.
2013
- ‘Trance Art and Other Possessions’, co-written with Christopher Danowski. Trans-What? Symposium, Transartfest, Art Biennial, 27 July – 9 August 2013, Berlin.
2012
- ‘The hysteric as mad: unfolding an exquisite corpse’, co-authored with Eleanor Bowen. 5th Global Conference: Making Sense of Madness, Thursday 30th August 2012 – Saturday 1st September 2012, Mansfield College, Oxford, United Kingdom. Read paper.
2011
- The material sensuousness of a hysteric’s performance. Sensuous Object, 29–30 September 2011, Medical Museion, Copenhagen.
2010
- Seduction captured. The Social Life Of Methods, ESRC Centre for Research on Socio-Cultural Change, 6th Annual Conference, 31 August-3 September 2010, St Hugh’s College Oxford.
- Stranger, Seducer. Transmission: Hospitality. 1-3 July 2010, Sheffield Hallam University. Download the paper from the conference proceedings.
- Make me yours: studying the psychodynamics of seduction through works of art. Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society, Middlesex University, 5th June 2010.
2009
- European Forum of Research Degrees in Art and Design (EUFRAD), Glasgow, 4–6 September 2009.
2008
- What the artwork wants: thoughts for, against and around interpretation in art and psychoanalysis. Co-written with Sharon Kivland. Research into Practice 2008: the Problem of Interpretation. Royal Society of Arts, London, 31 October 2008. Read paper.
- Reflections on seduction. Architexture: Exploring textual and architectural spaces. University of Strathclyde, 15-17 April 2008. Read abstract.
2007
- ‘Mothers, daughters and cryptophores’. Conference contribution: A return to Almodóvar: Roundtable discussion of his most recent film. Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society 2007 Annual Conference – Hope for Hard Times: Anxiety, Alienation and Activism, Rutgers University, 2-4 November 2007. Read Précis.
- When Freud Visited the Acropolis, Introduction presentation to the ‘Psychoanalysis in Doctoral Research’ panel, Rigorous Holes: Perspectives on Psychoanalytic Theory in Art and Performance Research, Chelsea College of Art, 29-30 May 2007. Watch my presentation.
- Juicy Salif as a cultish totem. The Discipline of Creativity: Exploring the Paradox, Session: ‘Ars longa’: establishing value. Institute for Capitalising on Creativity, RSAMD, 2 May 2007. Read abstract.
- Why the PhD studio? Co-written with Dr Naren Barfield. College Art Association, 95th Annual Conference, New York, 14-17 February 2007. Read abstract.
2006
- Created to lead astray: Baudrillard’s seduction in contemporary artefacts. Engaging Baudrillard, Swansea University, 4–6 September 2006.
Invited presentations
2023
- ‘Vital Breath’ for ‘Bio-Lit talks: Death and Dying’, University of Glasgow, 25.10.23
- ‘Breath’ for ‘Deep Breath: An Interdisciplinary Workshop in Breathing’ with Dr Marie Allitt, University of Edinburgh, as part of the Scottish Breath Network, 15.05.23
2022
- ‘Thinking and writing and thinking and writing’, Fifth KISD Masterclass: Writing and Performance for Integrated Design Postgraduates, Köln International School of Design, Germany, 17.10.22
- ‘Change and Growth from Within’, Shared Lives Plus 2022 conference ‘Change and Growth’, 12-13.10.2022
- ‘Breath of life’, YoGlasgow: Prescribing Yoga for Health, Easterhouse, Glasgow, 08.10.2022
- ‘Room to breathe’, Breath masterclass with composer Sonia Allori and Drake Music Scotland, 22.03.2022. The work composed was performed at PLUG festival in RCS in March 2022 and in Sound Scotland in October 2022.
2021
- ‘Resilience Within’, Shared Lives Plus 2021 conference Resilience and Rebuilding Communities, 10-11.11.2021
- ‘We are Air’, guided meditation as part of Zoe Walker and Neil Bromwich’s exhibition for COP26 The Encampment of Eternal Hope, The Briggait, Glasgow, 08.11.21
- ‘The Hysteric: outline of a Figure’, Glasgow Medical Humanities Network lunchtime events, 03.11.2021
- ‘Thinking and writing and thinking and writing’, Fourth KISD Masterclass: Writing and Performance for Integrated Design Postgraduates, Köln International School of Design, Germany, 25.10-08.11.2021.
- ‘We are Earth’, guided meditation as part of Zoe Walker and Neil Bromwich’s exhibition The Encampment of Eternal Hope, Royal Botanical Gardens, Edinburgh, 03.07.21
- ‘Make Me Yours’, Camberwell College of Arts, 29.04.21
- ‘How to Breathe’, UX Glasgow Mental Health Special, Zoom, 03.02.21
2020
- ‘Performing Lacan: Jouissance & the Pleasure Principle‘, Pleasuring Freud, symposium event celebrating the centenary of Sigmund Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle. The Drouth, Glasgow, 05.12.20
- ‘Loving-Kindness’, Shared Lives Plus 2020 conference On Kindness, 18-19.11.2020
- Breathe and Sleep, Curious: The Royal Society of Edinburgh Summer 2020 events programme, 11.08.20.
- ‘Sleep’, in collaboration with Toni-Dee Paul, Eat,Move, Sleep Repeat, a series of online conversations with artists as part of the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival, organised by Emma-Jane Park and Emily Furneaux, 03.06.2020.
2019
- ‘Breath’, Tea and Just Talk series, Curious: The Royal Society of Edinburgh Summer 2019 events programme, 05.08.19.
- ‘What is collaboration? – An artistic case study’, Learning to Collaborate module, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 11.02.2019.
- ‘Thinking and writing and thinking and writing’, Third KISD Masterclass: Writing and Performance for Integrated Design Postgraduates, Köln International School of Design, Germany, 08-09.01.2019.
2018
- Warmed Air [with Laura Bradshaw, Steven Anderson and Paul Michael Henry], Exchange Talk, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Glasgow, 19.11.18
2017
- Wozu Image? [workshop delivered with Madeleine Campbell] (e)motion, Cultural Literacy in Europe second biennial conference, Warsaw, 10-12.05.17
2016
- ‘How Art Seduces’, Köln International School of Design, Germany, 29 November 2016.
2015
- ‘Mother’ [performative lecture], Family Ties Network ‘Subject Missing’, The Glasgow School of Art, 20 November 2015.
- ‘The Practice of Writing’, Edinburgh College of Art, 18 November 2015.
- ‘Psychodynamics, Seduction and Works of Art’, Glasgow University Research Lectures, 29 April 2015.
- Keynote ‘I know what you think but how do you feel’, Into the New symposium, The Arches, Glasgow, 12 January 2015.
2014
- Between laughter and crying, Research Showcase, The Glasgow School of Art, 04 December 2014
- Hysteria’s Entropy. The Glasgow School of Art, 28 October 2014
- Between laughter and crying, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 20 October 2014
2013
- Psychoanalysis and Art.From Death to Death and Other Small Tales by Night. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. 05 July 2013.
- Hysterical Architecture. Gareth Hoskins Architects, Glasgow. 13 June 2013.
- The body of the hysteric. ‘The Mortal Coil’ lecture series, part of Ruth Mills Contemporary Dance Winter Intensive. 03 January 2013.
2012
- A hysterico-pervert’s guide to dance. ‘The Pervert’s Guide to Dance’ Lecture series, part of Ruth Mills Contemporary Dance Winter Intensive. 07 January 2012.
2011
- Consumption, Seduction, Perversion. Sheffield Hallam University Art and Materiality lectures. 01 December 2011.
- Make Me Yours. Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. 07 February 2011.
2009
- Perversion within seduction. Interviewed by MFIT curator Colleen Hill. Fashion Culture Special Educational Programs. Museum at FIT, New York. 18 February 2009.
2008
- Practice in my PhD. Practice in a PhD: a Workshop for Supervisors. Nottingham Trent University. 25 September 2008.
- That Obscure Object of Research. Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. 24 January 2008.
2005
- Position paper (with Dr Malcolm Quinn, Research Coordinator, Wimbledon School of Art). Perspectives in Practice-Based Research, AHRC funded collaborative doctoral training project, Coventry University, the University of the Arts London, University of Hertfordshire, Sheffield Hallam University, Wimbledon School of Art and University of Leeds, 2005.
2004
- The roll out management of skills training: experiences with different models (with Professor Stephen Flint, Director of Graduate School, University of Liverpool). Third Annual UKGrad conference ‘The future of the UK Doctorate in an International Market’, 2004.
- Issues in practice-led research. Surrey Institute of Art and Design, 2004.
2003
- The Game of Rule Making, Centre for Learning and Teaching in Art and Design, London, 2003.
2002
- Language and Beyond, School of Performing Arts, University of Surrey, 2002.
Grants and awards
2024
- Residency at Cove Park, Scotland, to develop Corazonada, 31.01–02.02.24
- Residency at the Workroom, Glasgow, to develop Corazonada, 28.10–02.11.24
2023
- Athenaeum Award – Knowledge Exchange Route to host the performative lecture ‘Multiple journeys: the Life and Work of Gómez-Peña’ by Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Balitrónica, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 03.04.23
- Glasgow Medical Humanities Network Foundation Award for ‘Deep Breath: An Interdisciplinary Workshop in Breathing‘ with Dr Marie Allitt, University of Edinburgh, 15.05.23
2021
- Athenaeum Award – Research to attend and present at CARPA 7: Elastic Writing in Artistic Research, Performing Arts Research Center (Tutke), Uniarts Helsinki Theatre Academy, 28.08.2021
2019
- Shortlisted for the Adrian Howells Award For Intimate Performance.
- Residency at The Work Room, Glasgow, 17-23.06.19
- With Professor Kevin Laland (St Andrews), St Leonard’s College Interdisciplinary Doctoral Scholarship for the project: ‘Exploring the Relationship between Imitation and Dance’
- Open Project Funding from Creative Scotland for Breath Practice (March – November 2022)
2018
- Athenaeum Award, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, for ‘Reading/gHosting Hysteria’ at SHE IS HYSTERICAL, UCLA.
2016
- Research Development Fund, The Glasgow School of Art, for ‘What does Hysteria Want from Me?’.
2015
- Research Development Fund, The Glasgow School of Art, for ‘Mothers, Daughters and Cryptophores’.
- Research Leave, The Glasgow School of Art, for ‘Make Me Yours: How Art Seduces’.
2013
- Research Development Fund, The Glasgow School of Art, for ‘The Unreliable Reader’.
- AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award. Application developed and co-authored with Professor Alastair Macdonald (PI) and The Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injury Unit, Scotland.
2012
- Research Development Fund, The Glasgow School of Art, for ‘The Hysteric as Mad’.
2007
- The Learning and Teaching Innovation Fund. GSA, Total funding £1,931. Application developed with Dr Nicky Bird.
- CAA Travel Grant.
2006
- AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Training Award. AHRC, Total funding £10k. Application developed with Professor Naren Barfield and Stuart Evans, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
2005
- AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Training Award. AHRC, Total funding £10k. Application developed with Dr Malcolm Quinn and Dr Dany Nobus, Brunel University.
- AHRC Collaborative Doctoral Award. Application developed and co-authored with Hilary Baxter, Dr Robert Perks and Cathy Courtney, National Life Stories, The British Library.
2000
- The Basque Region Award for specialised study in a foreign country.
- Student exchange award, painting and printmaking, Sheffield Hallam University.
1999
- Photography and video scholarship, Faculdade das Belas Artes do Porto, Portugal.
Doctoral supervision and examination
As Principal Supervisor
- Paul Michael Henry, With your feet deep in the Earth: fostering experiences of interdependent selfhood through embodied performance practices (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland/University of Glasgow)
- Josh Armstrong (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
- Catherine Small, The Place of Hysteria Within Music: War, Trauma and Resistance (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
As Co-supervisor
- Sonia Allori, Aspects of specialised training for Deaf performers at RCS (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
- Deborah Norris, Cathy Marston–A Female Author of Narrative Ballet (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland)
- Riordan Regan, Past Meets Presence: A Phenomenology of Trans-scendence Through Direct Experience (Liverpool John Moores University and Transart Institute)
Completed students
- Dawn Schultz, Materialization of a Choreographic Process through a cross-disciplinary Approach, PhD (Liverpool John Moores University and Transart Institute, 2021 – 2024)
- Stephanie Lamprea, The Rematerialised Voice: a performance study of the classical voice through contemporary vocal techniques, multidisciplinary practices, and various feminist and eco-materialist perspectives, DPerf (Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, September 2021 – April 2024)
- Flavia Domingues D’Avila, Syncretic theatre and its use in devising (June 2017 – September 2021)
- Margaret Hart, Collage in the Posthuman Era: Gender and Becoming (Transart Institute, Plymouth University, September 2016 – June 2020)
- Inês Bento Coelho, Choreography within a Visual Arts Process. Devising Performative Installations through Choreographic Approaches (Glasgow School of Art, September 2014 – September 2018).
- Christopher Danowski, The Medium and the Message: Afro-Cuban Trance and Western Theatrical Performance (Transart Institute / Plymouth University, January 2013 – September 2016).
- Emma Balkind, Estovers: Practice based research on the concept of the commons within contemporary art (Glasgow School of Art, September 2012 – September 2015).
- Mitch Miller, The mytho-geographical line, the time map and the tactical drawing: A Practice-led inquiry into the Dialectogram (Glasgow School of Art, September 2011 – September 2015).
- Cara Broadley, Visualising human‐centred design relationships: a toolkit for participation (Glasgow School of Art, September 2010 – September 2013).
- Myria Christophini, Animating Peace: A Practice-Led Inquiry into the potential of Animation to act as a tool for peace-building (Glasgow School of Art, January 2009 – March 2013).
PhD examinations
I have chaired 4 PhD examinations at The Glasgow School of Art (Patricia Cain, Lynn-Sayers McHattie, Chantelle Niblock and Lilia Gómez) and externally examined one PhD at the University of Salford, School of Music, Media and Performance (Mohammad Dawood, Dynamic Narratives: Re-Imagining Animated Films on the Internet).
External Esteem
- 2024: Peer reviewer for Subjectivity Journal
- 2024: Judging panel for One Dance UK Awards, 05.11.24
- 2024: External Reviewer for the International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media.
- 2023: Symposium organiser for ‘Creative Health’, with Drs Emily Doolittle and Laura Bissell, SHARE (Science, Humanities and Arts Research Exchange), University of St Andrews, 31.05.23
- 2023: Symposium organiser for ‘Deep Breath: An Interdisciplinary Workshop in Breathing’ with Dr Marie Allitt, University of Edinburgh, as part of the Scottish Breath Network, 15.05.23
- 2021: Creator of the Scottish Breath Network, funded by Creative Scotland
- 2022: External critical friend for the Art and Design Graduate Diploma re-validation at the Royal College of Art
- 2020: Member of the Glasgow Medical Humanities Network Steering Group.
- 2020: Peer Reviewer for Journal of Artistic Research (JAR).
- 2019: Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities, Disciplinary+ Catalyst co-lead for Creative Arts and Design.
- 2019: Reviewer for panel Creative Arts & Design, Scottish Graduate School of Arts and Humanities.
- 2018: Symposium organiser for ‘Between Strangers’ with Laura Bissell, LJ Findlay-Walsh, Stephen Greer, Simon James Holton, Annie Lowry Thomas and Karl Taylor. Take Me Somewhere festival of Performance, Glasgow 27.05.17.
- 2018: Panel reviewer for residency applications July-December 2018. The Work Room, Glasgow.
- 2017–2018: Co-editor of a special issue of the Scottish Journal of Performance on the Art of Care. See the full issue here.
- 2017: Symposium organiser for ‘The Art of Care-full Practice’ with Dee Heddon, Simon Murray,and Laura Bissell. Take Me Somewhere festival of Performance, Glasgow 05.03.17.
- 2016: Peer reviewer for Project Anywhere.
- 2015: Peer reviewer for Subjectivity journal.
- 2015: Peer reviewer for the Scottish Journal of Performance.
- 2014–2018: External Examiner, Choice and Collaboration, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
- 2014: Advisor for ELSE journal: International art, literature, theory, creative media.
- 2013: Evaluator for the Austrian Science Fund (FWF).
- 2010–present: Member of the AHRC’s Peer Review College.
- 2010: Editor, Visit Glasgow.
- 2009: Peer Reviewer, ESRC.
- 2009: Contributor, The New Escapologist.
- 2008–2009: Correspondent, Glasgow Vida Urbana, Soitu.es.
- 2007: Occasional referee, Arts and Humanities in Higher Education.
- 2007: Occasional referee, Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies.
- 2007: Editorial Advisor, Studies in Material Thinking .
- 2006: External Member, Research Degrees Sub-Committee, Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
- 2006: External Member (in attendance), Higher Degrees Committee, Faculty of Arts, University of Glasgow.
Membership of professional bodies
- 2017–present: Member, The Workroom.
- 2016–present: Member, PsyArt foundation.
- 2007–present: Member, Association for the Psychoanalysis of Culture and Society (APCS).
- 2006–present: Member, College Arts Association (CAA).
- 2005–present: Registered Practitioner, Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (FHEA).
Other Public Engagement
2021
- Podcast interview with Trent Kim, Arts-based/Artistic Research Methodological Practices In Truth, 29.06.21