Reflecting on Nicola Meeting 16/03/24

Honestly, I don’t feel like my point was understood when I was talking about my film. I (hope) that I was clear that this is an experimental film using performance and movement as the main communication tools to convey my themes of monstrous feminine, eco-horror, climate change as the subtext, bodies etc. I will allow that an emotional structure is needed, as I have working rather randomly with the abstraction and have yet to strike the balance between narrative/non-narrative. However, I resent that I was advised to not ‘forget about the story’ which I took to mean more traditional storytelling, which is not what I am exploring here. I’m treating this as a piece of art, an exploration of the form and seeing how far I can stretch my ideas and develop my creative practice. As I refine my ideas and build this structure slowly, I am learning things and my research is informing my practice and vice versa.

At this point in time, the most influential academics for my research are Barbara Creed, Julia Kristeva and Ursula K Le Guin. My practice and ideas have really shifted since January and focused in, after engaging with their writings. It has helped me narrow my field, and become more detailed in my practice with the ideas that I am engaging in. My work definitely contains A LOT of ideas and references, which I am accepting that I don’t think I can write about with the space I have. But this doesn’t mean I have to get rid of them, I want my work to be read in multiple different ways, and I want it to prompt thoughts and ideas. I think my background as an art historian has informed this element of my creative practice, and I really enjoy implementing this in my work.

I should make sure I watch all of the films that Kitty recommended to me and critically engage with them, as her suggestions were really helpful for my practice.