Spatialising narrative pictures : transforming 2D narrative drawing/illustration to video installations

Abstract

This Ph.D. thesis is an investigation of the processes and problems, both practical and conceptual, involved in the transformation of my small-scale two-dimensional narrative drawings into video installations. The aim of this transformation was to increase the active involvement and engagement of the viewer and to enhance and open up the narrative/s within the original drawings. I use the term ‘spatialise’ for this transformation, looking particularly at three major narrative factors - character, event and space. It became apparent through the investigation that scale and position were also crucial factors. These elements are examined through creative practice and a critical body of knowledge gained from firsthand practical experience, contextualised against the historical and theoretical backdrop relating to narrative images and how images relate to spaces. As an artist coming to this inquiry from a drawing/illustration background, the three key concerns and questions were: how to transform a two-dimensional narrative illustration into an installation without losing the drawing/painting quality? When transformed into a video installation, what changes happen to the narrative and to the audience’s engagement and self-awareness, and subsequently the audience’s understanding of the narrative? How can technology, sculpture, installation, and video projection be used to develop and enhance my drawings? This desire to search for a new medium and approach for my drawing/illustration practice is in the context of both my own artistic identity and the backdrop of dramatic social transformation in China. The research has led to new insights as well as new dialogues for me - between drawing practice, my cultural identity as an artist, the narrative content of my own hand-made drawings, and comparisons between the traditions of Western/European and Chinese art. A particularly important new element for me was the idea of an ‘open narrative’ gained through spatialisation. The research therefore contributes to the field of contemporary art practice, video installation and narrative drawing through bringing together experimental video installation and a cultural critique – and by directing the audience’s self-awareness through open narrative discourse.