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Doctoral Candidates
Doctoral Candidates
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AbstractThis thesis examines the past, present, and future role of analogue and sustainable photographic printing processes and practices in the context of the current climate crisis. Silver-based photographic processes are known to contribute to the toxic waste that is accumulating in our soil and oceans. The concerns of the thesis are thus situated against a wider ecological context in which our growing exploitative and extractive behaviours and habits in the current era of the Anthropocene, are increasingly reintroducing material waste back to the environment in the form of pollutants (Parrika, 2015). Australian cultural historian, Astrida Neimanis, describes modern global waters as ‘anthropogenic’; with ‘rising sea levels, melting ice caps, parched interiors, rogue storm surges and strange weather, human interaction with water can be seen to not only ‘sustain life but also to threaten it’ (Neimanis, 2017). Analogue printing techniques, such as cyanotype and anthotypes, are currently experiencing a revival amongst environmentally conscious image makers, who explore the sustainability and long-term benefits of sourcing alternative photographic materials including sunlight. Drawing on case studies, I propose to investigate the following key questions: where do photographic chemicals and materials come from? Who extracts them and to what end? Who processes and consumes them and under what economic and/or social working conditions? What are the ecological and environmental short-, mid- and long-term impacts after a commercial mine has been abandoned? Short BioBorn to an Anglo-Irish mother and a Sudeten-German father in Wiesbaden, Germany, Scholz grew up in a bilingual family home, dividing his time between Ireland and Germany. He completed a BA in Photography at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), developing a keen interest in visual narratives, followed by postgraduate studies at Goldsmiths College, University of London, where he deepened his understanding of critical and contemporary art-making theories and practices under the mentorship of several Turner Prize–winning artists including Dr Elizabeth Price, Grayson Perry, Mark Leckey and Laure Prouvost. He subsequently trained as a teacher at the Institute of Education, University College London, developing specialist subject-specific skills for teaching photography to young people. His work has been exhibited widely across Europe. Recent exhibitions include Rotlicht Festival for Analog Photography 2022 (joint winner), Vienna; Climanosco 2022 (invited artist), Schaffhausen; Rotterdam Photo Festival 2022 XL (joint winner), Rotterdam; PhotoIreland Festival 2022 (invited artist), Dublin and Extraction: Loss and Restoration 2022 (invited artist), King’s Lynn, UK. Upcoming exhibitions include FUTURES Photography 2023, Amsterdam. His photographic works are housed in the collections of the Office of Public Works, Ireland; NHS Foundation Trust, England; Goldsmiths College, United Kingdom; Frédéric de Goldschmidt, Belgium; and IBASHO Gallery, Antwerp, Belgium. Email: aindreasscholz81@gmail.com |
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AbstractThis thesis critically examines my work as a journalist art critic, situating the inquiry within a field currently outlined as ‘both challenged and challenging’ (Bickers, 2021)) and with reference to existing discourse about art criticism and arts journalism (Elkins, 2003; Gielen and Lijster, 2015; Solomon, 2016; Haylock and Patty, 2021). It maps out the field of journalistic art criticism and practice as an inquiry navigated across diverse sites of production and dissemination through major transitional periods – technological, chronological, social and political. The central research concern lies in an interrogation of the value and purpose of this work as it relates to art history and the ways in which its published outputs gain value as cultural history, in particular as it applies to readings of Irish national, social and political identity (Cosgrove, 1990; Jewesbury et al., 2008; Gibbons, 2011; Shovlin, 2013). The thesis interrogates questions raised through an exploration of the practice, including an examination of the place of art criticism within twenty-first century journalism in Ireland, together with a focus on how it can seek out new journalism-related modes of connection with audiences. This thesis reinserts the practice of art criticism as journalism into the field of discussion. Short BioCristín Leach is a cultural critic working in print, TV, radio and digital media since 1999 and writing art criticism for The Sunday Times since 2003. She has published more than 500 articles and essays in newspapers, journals, catalogues, artist books and online. In 2017, she wrote ‘21st Century Ireland in 21 Artworks’ for RTE.ie and curated the associated exhibition at the 2019 Earagail Arts Festival. She co-presented the New York Festivals award-winning radio series ‘Through the Canvas’ in 2019, and presented the four-part radio documentary ‘Ireland Portrayed’ in 2020, for RTÉ Lyric FM. She has written, broadcast on TV and radio, delivered public talks and third level education lectures, and participated in panel discussions on the role of the critic and the purpose and nature of art criticism since 2010. Her practice is driven by a deliberate decision to practice as an art critic within mainstream media. Since 2016, she has expanded her practice into a parallel exploration of art criticism as a form of personal essay, alongside the role art writing can play in the production of creative non-fiction and auto-fiction. Her short fiction and personal essays have been published in Winter Papers (2017; 2019; 2021) and on RTÉ Radio 1 (‘Keywords’, 2020). She holds a Master of Arts in Journalism (1998). Her book of personal essays Negative Space (2022) was published by Merrion Press. She is President of AICA Ireland, the Irish branch of the Association Internationale des Critiques d’Art. Website: https://linktr.ee/cristinleach |
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AbstractThis thesis examines contemporary socially engaged architectural practice in Ireland and explores whether it can be sustained within existing structures, through adopting a ‘criticality from within’ approach (Doucet 2018) or liminal position at the interstices of creative practice. It sets out to frame the different roles of architect, facilitator, client(s) and users/audience as agents operating within these contexts. I am interested in an interrogation of the everyday environments we occupy and the ways that certain forms of spatial knowledge are privileged (and perpetuated through prevalent modes of architectural education) over others. Jos Boys (2016) describes how in architecture care-full design starts from an analysis of ‘actual, multiple, diverse and unequal everyday lives’. The durational and site-specific practice-based research projects foregrounded in the thesis represent an interest in how one might conceive of architectural practice differently by engaging with the processes of negotiation and sense-making in assessing spatial needs and understanding diverse lived experiences, particularly of those with disabilities. The thesis re-evaluates over a decade of architectural practice and projects through a critical framework which foregrounds feminist concerns around care and inclusion. Short BioEmma Geoghegan is an architect, urban designer and educator engaged in the design of inclusive and resilient buildings and places for people. She is currently Assistant Head of School at the Dublin School of Architecture, leading on undergraduate, postgraduate and professional architectural programmes. From 2007-2017 Emma was a partner in MEME Architecture a collaborative design practice working on projects in the UK and Ireland. The practice undertook a broad range of projects with an emphasis on work for voluntary and community organisations providing services for people with intellectual disabilities. In parallel, since 2008, her research and teaching practice has been driven by a commitment to the social purpose of architecture and collaborative inclusive design principles and embedding this within architectural education. Email: emma.geoghegan@tudublin.ie |
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AbstractArchitecture has provided the foundational structure that has facilitated the expansion of my practice in the ‘expanded field’ (Krauss, 1979). A mixed mode of broad creative practice has resulted in outputs located at the intersection of academic, architectural, art and creative practice. This has resulted in works that could be considered ‘boundary objects’ (Star and Griesemer, 1989; Akkermann & Bakker, 2011), exhibiting patterns of assemblage, appropriation, accommodation, together with bricolage (Deleuze & Guattari, 1984; Dezeuze, 2008). Since bricolage ‘is nowadays associated with indifference to genres, the celebration of eclectic code mixings, and arbitrariness,’ it points toward uncharted territories (Altglas 2014). Boundary objects are the residue of more than one set of influences that share a common set of characteristics; though they may constitute ambiguous allegories on the periphery of mainstream architectural practice, they further carry the inherent creative potential of new knowledge (Grushka et al., 2018). The mechanisms of identification, coordination, reflection and transformation have been identified that arguably could facilitate a better understanding of the learning potential of boundary crossing (Akkermann & Bakker, 2011). This thesis sets out to map the periphery and overlap of several disciplinary fields of my creative practice, further examining the reconciliation of compositional operations that contribute to the creation of ‘boundary objects’. Short BioNoel Brady is a Lecturer in Architecture, Design, Technology and Theory in the School of Architecture, Building, Environment (SABE), TU Dublin, where he is also the current Programme Chair for architecture. Since 1990 he has contributed to undergraduate education and postgraduate supervision as well as leading on various research projects. His practice, NJBA A+U, established in 1994, has been recognised nationally and internationally for architectural and urban design. Published contributions include articles, critical papers, interviews and reviews. In 2020 he co-edited Dublin by Design (O’Brien Press) with Sandra O’Connell, celebrating 100 years of Architecture and Urban Design in Dublin, alongside in recognition of the role of Architects in the formation of Ireland’s capital city. Noel is interested in transdisciplinary areas of research, music composition and creative writing, which includes the establishment of the HYBRID Living Lab with colleagues in SABE. Email: noel.brady@tudublin.ie |
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AbstractThis thesis presents a way to look at informal settings that offers valuable concepts and methods to contemporary architecture practice. The approach has been developed using primarily the discourses emerging from the observation, occupation and structure of landscape rather than that of architecture. Landscape terms and concepts are used to redescribe informal settings in order to explore what architecture practice can learn from them. This is be done by articulating a definition of informal settings through both existing discourse (Cruz, Oliver, Oswalt, Upton, Vellinga) and the refinement of this definition through insights in my publications and projects on the properties and processes observed in these locations. Likewise, the thesis will corroborate the landscape reading made in my publications through reference to the literature on landscape interpretation (Corner, Ingold, Jackson, Waldheim). The thesis draws on the primary research of informal settings in the prior publications, which utilize case-study based drawing and observational methodologies and will further substantiate the landscape reading made of these settings. The potential of the strategic linking of these discourses to inform architectural practice forms the thesis that unifies the publications. The landscape interpretation of informal settings illuminates the themes of temporality, process, agency and collaboration, which allow the transferal of knowledge and working processes from informal settings into architectural practice in a manner that allows cross-fertilization between the conventional disciplinary boundaries of the urban and rural. Short BioDougal Sheridan studied architecture at Queensland University Australia, TU Berlin, and the HDK, Berlin, graduating with 1st Class Honours. He is an academic and director of LiD Architecture – a multi-award-winning practice for both its architectural and research projects. He has held various academic positions including lecturer in Architecture at the University of Ulster, a visiting Fellow of the University of Queensland Australia, external examiner to Architecture Program in Sligo IT, and guest tutor at the Dessau International Architecture Graduate School [DIA] Germany. He has published widely on the topics of informal urbanism, sub-cultural space in the city, public engagement in the built environment, together with landscape strategies in the discipline of architecture. Email: dougal@lid-architecture.net |
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AbstractThis thesis examines the negotiated and collaborative design processes inherent in my practice, FKL Architects, across significant housing projects in Dublin, including Social Housing, Ballymun, Reuben Street Apartments and St. John’s House Nursing Home, among others. The collaborative means by which the conceptual basis of projects and how ideas developed through ‘conversation’ (Gadamer, 2013), reciprocal sketchbooks and shared experiences, will be foregrounded. How drawing is used tactically as a collaborative design tool at all design and construction stages to ensure good architectural quality projects, is a central thesis research question. Analytical attention will be accorded to how the resultant concept sketches served to reinforce the ultimate goal, that of providing high-quality housing in Dublin. Other methods/tactics identified will serve to capture the negotiated relationships with external parties designed to achieve the best outcome for the residents. The thesis further examines the complimentary relationships between drawings and documents to clarify how negotiation tactics are tailored for diverse stakeholders. Short BioPaul Kelly is Lecturer in the School of Architecture, Building and Environment, TU Dublin. Together with Michelle Fagan and Gary Lysaght, he founded FKL Architects in 1998 who have built numerous award-winning housing projects. FKL designed and curated Ireland’s pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2006. The work of the practice has been widely published. He has been a visiting critic at TU Wein, Austria and the Centre for Architectural Education (CCAE), UCC, and was external examiner at the School of Architecture, UCD. In 2021, he published the Dublin Architecture Guide (1932-202) in collaboration with Cormac Murray and Brendan Spierin. He is particularly interested in the question of how a collaborative architectural practice can make a positive and transformative contribution to housing design in the wider environmental context of a climate crisis. Email: paul.kellyx@TUDublin.ie |
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AbstractThis thesis examines the development of my curatorial practice in photography and lens-based media, drawing on a body of critical writing and exhibition-making produced between 2013 and 2026. The research considers how curatorial authorship operates, foregrounding the exchanges between curators, artists, artworks, institutions and audiences that shape their conceptual and material form. Rather than understanding authorship as the expression of an autonomous curatorial position or as something displaced into collective practice, the thesis traces how a distinct curatorial position can be formed and transformed through dialogue and negotiation. Using an interpretive case-study methodology, the thesis considers development of selected projects from their initial conceptual frameworks through processes of research, selection, dialogue and exhibition-making. It articulates the relationship between an earlier practice of critical writing and subsequent curatorial work, and how particular exhibition thematics necessitate different approaches to curatorial mediation. The research uses these projects to examine relationality as both a condition and a productive methodology of curatorial practice, contributing to the developing discourse around the curation of photography. Short BioDarren Campion is Curator at Photo Museum Ireland. In 2022 he co-curated two major surveys of contemporary Irish photography, The Politics of Place, and Photography & the Social Gaze. With Trish Lambe, Artistic Director, Photo Museum Ireland, he co-curated No Place Like Home: The Domestic in Irish Photography, surveying recent photographic representations of home in Ireland. He has also written extensively about contemporary photographic practices, particularly on visual narrative and the photobook. He has contributed to international publications and websites, including FOAM, Paper Journal, YET magazine, Photomonitor and the Irish Arts Review, as well as essays and texts for several artists’ monographs. In 2024 he curated Skin / Deep: Perspectives on the Body, a survey exhibition considering experiences of the body through photography and lens-based media. Current projects include The Forbidden Sun, a major new solo exhibition by Robert Ellis, co-curated with Trish Lambe, and Afterimage: Photography in the Digital Age, a Photo Museum Ireland national touring exhibition, with partners The Dock, Carrick-on-Shannon, and Uillinn: West Cork Arts Centre, Skibbereen, supported by the Arts Council. Email: darren@photomuseumireland.ie |
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AbstractThis thesis considers possible methods of engaging different, sometimes marginalised, community actors through my ten-year experience working with We are here Venice NGO, having been its artistic director since 2021. The projected thesis focus will be on projects related to Venice, considered a microcosm of overtourism and the globalised climate crisis, highlighting the most effective strategies to deal with these issues through socially engaged art projects, both short and long-term, further examining the ethical considerations at stake. By tracing the direction of such projects developed in Venice, from those of disruptive and communicatively effective protest for increasing awareness of the surrounding ecosystem, to the more continuous and transformative educational ones based on socially engaged participatory and collaborative processes (Black et al., 2023), this thesis analyses the advantages and disadvantages of acting within a predetermined institutional framework (Bishop, 2012), foregrounding strategies to maintain space for uncertainty and its generative capacity, alongside contributing to the research in this field. Short BioEleonora Sovrani is a curator, multimedia artist and artistic director at We are here Venice a non-profit association dedicated to safeguarding Venice and its lagoon. After obtaining a Master's degree in Visual and Multimedia Communication at the Iuav University of Venice, she worked as a researcher and curator for several exhibitions and publications, developing independent art projects with a focus on the politics of representation and public space. Her artistic practice has evolved in relation to the fragile contexts in which it has developed, particularly in relation to the historic city of Venice and across various contexts of collaboration. Her lived experience of Venice underpins the sense of urgency encapsulated in her artistic practice and her drive to remain at the forefront of socio-cultural resistance against the commodification of the city and its lagoon. Email: eleonora@weareherevenice.org |
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AbstractCareer counselling theories typically emphasise meaning, authenticity and individual agency. My PhD research explores how unconscious processes might also shape career decision-making. Specifically, I examine career decision-making through the work of French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan. Lacan offers a lens to consider how little we may know about ourselves, the limits of control we have over our lives,and the frustration that can arise from never fully obtaining what we want. As a practising career counsellor, my work with individuals navigating career decisions has led me to question the limits of career counselling approaches that emphasise agency and rational decision-making. In my own practice, I have become increasingly interested in the non-conscious processes that may influence career choices. This interest is reinforced by research suggesting that many working professionals experience a lack of connection or engagement with their work. My research therefore emerges from my experience as a practitioner, alongside existing research, and explores whether a psychoanalytic perspective can offer an additional way of understanding what takes place within the career counselling process and intersubjective encounter. Short BioPatrick Phillips is a career counsellor at Trinity College Dublin, where he works with postgraduate and MBA students navigating career decisions and transitions. He has almost two decades of experience in career and guidance counselling along with a Masters in Guidance Counselling from Warwick University. His research sits at the intersection of career counselling and psychoanalytic theory. His PhD research explores the application of the work by French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan to career counselling, with a particular focus on how unconscious processes may influence career decision-making, motivation, and satisfaction. His research builds on his professional experience as a career counsellor and a series of peer-reviewed publications examining Lacanian approaches to career counselling. Email: patrick.phillips@tcd.ie |
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