Evalutation of my Exhbition at the Doctorate Showcase 2025
I have been investigating how art, grounded in Jungian and psychoanalytic theories, aids in the processing of trauma, which supported my doctoral showcase that focused on transformation and the Jungian concept of individuation.[1]
My inquiry is informed by symbolic imagery that spontaneously emerges in my practice, such as the labyrinth, exemplified in The Mirror Labyrinth (2024) installation, the vortex and mandala, As Above, So Below (2024), and fragmentation, visible in Lines of Flight (2024), all of which represent introspection and transformation. These symbols also reflected the structure of the archetypal apocalypse, which involves dissolution and renewal as part of the individuation process. Apocalyptic imagery previously emerged in works such as Babylonian Towers (2022) and Edge of Death (2023), leading to an exploration of the metacrisis.[2]
My methodology and process have evolved to be guided by the symbolic imagery that spontaneously appears in my work. Alchemy provides a framework for a transformative process that has shifted my practice away from figurative approaches. This change reflects an experiential and intuitive engagement with materials, forming the foundation of a self-reflective, process-based methodology aligned with psychological transformation. My process-led approach serves as a therapeutic method that supports emotional regulation, integration, and the transformation of unconscious content, providing a vessel for emotional material.
My multi-layered process integrates theory and practice, which reflect my inner world. Symbols that emerge through imagery and process continue to guide the direction of my creative practice and research towards individuation. I examine how trauma transforms the Self, relating it to Jung’s archetype of the apocalypse,[3] which resonates with both personal crisis and the collective, metacrisis. The doctorate showcase aimed to communicate the affective reality of trauma and dissociation[4].
The core themes of trauma processing, individuation, and transformation were expressed through symbolic forms. Following the loss of my sister and brother-in-law shortly before the showcase, the work became a container for personal grief, layered upon the existing complexity of long-term trauma and complex PTSD.[5]
I aimed to create an uncanny and unsettling experience that facilitates the processing of trauma and confronts the archetypal shadow[6] within a safe and reflective environment, echoing the traditional concept of the sublime. (Burke and Guyer, 2015) The tension inherent in the sublime, between terror and awe, collapse and expansion, mirrors the dynamic of duality central to both individuation and alchemy in the coniunctionis oppositorum. [8](conjunction of opposites). In these processes, the reconciliation of opposites fosters psychic transformation, insight, and integration, which is further supported by contemporary neuroscience, which links the experience of awe, particularly through the arts, to cognitive and psychological transformation (Magsamen and Ross, 2023).
The showcase included: a film, The Black Sun: Mise en Abyme, five acrylic paintings on canvas, Nigredo, The Fragmented Self, The Haunted Self, The Fall and The Black Sun and three assemblages created from paintings and blackened wood: The Cot: Prima Materia, The Blackening and Beyond the Blackening.
The curation aimed to evoke symbolic resonance rather than follow a linear narrative. I sought to connect with anxiety and trauma where the psyche is in a state of transition and change, aligning with the collective experience of the metacrisis.
At the entrance, before stepping into the space, visitors encountered The Blackening and Beyond the Blackening, both composed of paintings extended by black batons. The latter referenced and reinterpreted the former to challenge perception and illusion. As the first works encountered in the exhibition, they introduced the central theme of nigredo, the initial alchemical stage of transformation; a journey through dissolution, symbolic death, and ultimately the search for coherence, meaning, and healing.
These works operated as a metaphor for disintegration, which also associates with the archetypal apocalypse. Positioned at the entrance, they served as an invitation and a warning, acting as symbols at the threshold of the unconscious and echoing the motif of the limen[10]. They introduce the theme of fragmentation, which involves the disruption of perception through dissociation, confusion, and illusion, exploring how this relates to our understanding of the nature of reality.
At the centre of the space, The Cot: Prima Materia functioned as a symbolic and perceptual anchor, establishing a spatial hierarchy. (Arnheim, 1988) This central placement evoked the archetypal forms of the vortex and mandala, from which the surrounding works appeared to emanate. Visually and conceptually, it extended the symbolic architecture developed in The Blackening and Beyond the Blackening, incorporating similar materials and techniques such as fragmentation, extension of the picture plane, and blackening. The act of charring the assemblage with a blowtorch extended its alchemical association with nigredo, suggesting destruction, transformation, and a confrontation with unconscious material. Its central positioning emphasised its role as a psychic axis within the space. The visiting critic, Richard Martin, described this work as ‘powerful.’
Upon entering the space, the first painting on the right was Nigredo, with The Fall positioned directly opposite. Continuing clockwise, the next wall displayed The Haunted Self and The Fragmented Self , while opposite these hung The Black Sun, a freeform painting created using the same intuitive process as Nigredo and The Fall. Adjacent to this was a monitor displaying the film The Black Sun: Mise en Abyme.
This arrangement, where the film-still paintings preceded the film, created a sense of uncanny familiarity when the moving image was observed. Reversing this sequence, where the film is viewed first, allowed the paintings to function as visual echoes. In either direction, uncanny familiarity is evoked, engaging with the psychoanalytic concept of the uncanny, where recognition and estrangement coexist (Sigmund Freud, 1919), thereby reinforcing the theme of fragmented memory and repetition central to the work.
Notes:
[1] Individuation is a central concept in Jungian psychology. It is a process that integrates conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche to achieve an authentic sense of self.
[2] The metacrisis refers to interconnected global crises such as climate change, economic instability, exponential technological development, and social breakdown that are systemic and overwhelm traditional problem-solving strategies.
[3] Archetype of the Apocalypse - symbolises destruction and renewal. It represents psychological transformation in the cyclical process of death and rebirth as a collective and individual phenomenon.
[4] Complex PTSD arises from prolonged or repeated trauma, often occurring in early life, such as chronic childhood abuse, neglect, or exposure to unstable caregiving, characterised by symptoms such as emotional dysregulation, intrusive memories, and dissociation.
[5] The Shadow Archetype represents repressed aspects of the self traits that are denied or hidden from conscious awareness that manifest in dreams and projections.
[6] Coniunctionis Oppositorum is an alchemical term popularised by the 15th-century mystic Nicholas of Cusa. It refers to the reconciliation or unity of opposites that express true wholeness by holding opposing forces together in tension until a new synthesis emerges.
[7] Limen originates from Latin, meaning threshold and is often used in psychology, anthropology, and art theory to describe moments or locations of transformation, ambiguity, and potential.
[8] The digital sublime refers to the overwhelming sense of awe, transcendence, or terror evoked by digital technologies, particularly when they exceed human comprehension or control. A term coined by Vincent Mosco.
ANALYSIS OF WORKS
UEL DOCTORATE SHOWCASE 2025
The works were connected through recurring themes, a monochromatic colour palette, and symbolic imagery. The layout encouraged multiple interpretations. In future installations, I intend to explore using lighting to evoke a sense of the uncanny. The slowed-down soundtrack of walking in my studio, which accompanied the film, produced an unsettling background noise.
In my short film, The Black Sun: Mise en Abyme, I aimed to evoke the experience of dissociation as an altered state of consciousness, drawing inspiration from David Lynch and his portrayals of the fractured inner experience of trauma. My research into dissociation and altered states of consciousness broadened my exploration of perception and the nature of reality, visually examined in the works The Blackening and Beyond the Blackening.
My exploration of perception and reality intersected with Baudrillard’s concepts of simulacra, simulation, and hyperreality (Baudrillard, 2019), building on my earlier studies of the digital sublime[11] (Mosco, 2004) and the impact of the exponential development of technology on how we think (Carr, 2020) and relate (Turkle, 2017). I expressed these ideas through recursive and self-reflective imagery within the film and extended the concept of mise en abyme in the paintings, The Haunted Self and The Fragmented Self. These techniques align with Freud’s idea of the return of the repressed and the uncanny (Sigmund Freud, 1919). These concepts were explored in the paintings that referenced film-stills from The Black Sun: Mise en Abyme.
Core themes of my research—trauma, transformation, alchemy, dissociation, fragmentation, and integration—that simultaneously reflect personal and collective issues—were represented throughout the space.
Recurring themes and archetypes that appeared in the work, included: Nigredo (the alchemical blackening, symbolising decomposition and the necessary death before transformation), the Dark Night of the Soul (a spiritual crisis that parallels nigredo), the Apocalypse archetype (representing the symbolic death of old identity or structures), and death and rebirth.
The paintings Nigredo and The Fall introduced two key concepts: the alchemical coniunctio oppositorum (the union of opposites) and Nietzsche’s dichotomy of the Apollonian (order, reason) and Dionysian (chaos, instinct). Both paintings explored these tensions through a synthesis of gestural, freeform mark-making and moments of figurative resolution.
Each work was visually contained by black rock formations framing the composition, suggesting psychological or symbolic boundaries. In Nigredo, the centre revealed a complex, labyrinthine depth symbolising a descent into unconscious material, echoing the alchemical nigredo stage of dissolution and decomposition. The Fall, by contrast, depicted a liminal threshold, evoked through a suspended, falling figure caught in mid-air. This moment of descent implied a transformational crossing, a state between worlds.
The waterfall motif in The Fall, alongside the surrounding space, suggested the alchemical vas, the vessel of transformation and the mercurial fountain, a symbol of volatile, ever-changing psychic energy.
Carl Jung’s interpretation of alchemical symbolism as a metaphor for individuation shaped my understanding of emerging symbols and processes. The work in the show is particularly connected with the initial alchemical stage of nigredo. Material processes such as charring are evolving alchemical methods that link process and concept.
[1] Individuation
[2] Metacrisis
[3] Archetype of the Apocalypse
[4] Dissociation
[5] Complex PTSD
[6] The Shadow
[7] The Sublime
[8] Coniunctionis Oppositorum
[9] The transcendent experience of the sublime
[10] "limen" comes from Latin, meaning threshold (as in the boundary between two spaces), and is often used in psychology, anthropology, and art theory to describe moments or locations of transformation, ambiguity, and potential.
[11] The digital Sublimeew paragraph
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