The main framework of this research is a/r/tography. As described by Springgay & Irwin (2008), it is a practice-based research methodology, where three different roles merge into one. Identifying with the three distinct roles of artist, teacher and researcher as one combined vocation is the core of this practice. It raises the first challenge of a/r/tography, namely discovering effective ways of relating these roles to each other. Any prioritising between these three aspects needs to be questioned and justified. Should one of these three roles lead the practice or be more dominant over the others? Attempting to gain some understanding of this specific problem in a multimodal way, an experimental artwork was accomplished. This project, called The Hat (2017) was filmed and its edited version was included in a snapshot presentation of the research at the Middlesex Research Students Summer Conference.



What is A/r/tography?


This video offers a basic explanation of a/r/tography.

An a/r/tographer, not unlike an action researcher, is both a "story character" as well as a "storyteller" (Dana et al., 2008), being engaged in a multimodal "discursive" action. In this context, this research is about "process" based on the a/r/tographer's own practice, and therefore it is addressing an objective subject in a self-reflective way.