Research Catalogue

Sketchbook of 53 A3 drawings with coloured markers, including 4 A3 collages with newspaper cutouts and printed photos. Sketchbook cover with red nail polish. 22 A4 drawings with ballpoint pen. Preparatory work, 2023-2024. I adopted the visual vocabulary of the graphic novel, which I partly studied and read a lot about looking at different graphic artists' work, when I was attending classes at the University of Malmo, Sweden, in 2012. I mixed this with stylistic elements of the architectural sketch, using heavily the black marker and stick figures. This visual approach gives a slightly comical note to the otherwise dark subject matter. "Pop and Politics" (Pop Og Politikk) Where does the boundary run between art and popular culture? Pop art embraces the iconography of mass culture. Themes are taken from advertising comics, cinema and TV. The slick, impersonal style is a deliberate provocation. In Norway, pop art is part of a broader left-wing protest movement. Everything from capitalism and imperialism to environmental and gender politics is subjected to critical scrutiny. The exclusive, unique artwork is replaced by mass-produced prints and posters, well suited to spreading a political message." From the National Museum, Oslo, Norway.

Happening, 2016. Participant's empirical research, including improvised full recorded interview with first generation Albanian immigrants to Greece, images, and thematic text. The research was conducted for the workshop, "Logics of Worlds", inspired by Alain Badiou's work and organised by architect Filippos Oraiopoulos, at Athens School of Fine Art (ASFA), Master of Visual Arts (Marios Spiliopoulos, Giorgios Xiropaides), December 2016. Adopting the political approach of Badiou's "L' Organisation Politique" to apply direct intervention for societal problems, including immigration and labour, I used play as a method to facilitate improvised discussions. People share and respond more freely when participating in structured, but playful interactions, such as those a game involves. Albanians speak three languages, Albanian, Italian and, a few of them, Greek, so I wasn't able to translate parts of the conversation. Avlona is an English now obsolete name for Vlore, an Albanian seaport and former ancient Greek colony Aulon. Albanians came as non-EU refugees in Greece initially in the 1990s, after the fall of communism in their home country. Religion was banned in communist countries. The democratisation of Albania began in 1994, when Albanians protested for political pluralism in their country. At the beginnig ofbthe transition period after communism, Vlore became a port through which smuggling, mainly from Italy, was carried out. Notably, the men I spoke to didn't want to be visualised. Hence, the exposition aims to juxtapose the experimental and the conceptual in the fine arts; and to make the 'invisible' visible. Badiou is also known for his philosophy of metaphysics of the four "truth procedures": Politics, Science, Love and Art. The workshop was slightly interrupted by a performance art student, who brought a live hen to slaughter in the studio. This can be taken as a metaphor for scapegoating (by symbolically re-assigning the gender of male) Albanian non-EU refugees. For this exposition, I include an essay by Pantelis Boukalas, in Kyriakos Katzourakis, O "Dromos Pros Ti Dysi" (The Way to the West), 2001, as well as Kyriakos Katzourakis' introduction in English. I don't have any personal or other connections with Albania - or North Macedonia or Kosovo: I had never visited before 2024. This was a project to research and document in an artistic manner the refugee and immigration crisis, as I experienced it in my native Greece and to voice my opinions on this topic from my perspective as a native Greek. I spoke to non-EU economic refugees. Non-EU economic refugees must not be confused with political asylum seekers, who encounter persecution for political reasons from the countries of origin or citizenship. Albania (North Macedonia and Kosovo) is a non-EU country; Greece, my native (and my parents' and grandparents' native), has been in the EU since 1981. I have also been a UK national, by naturalisation, since 2011. Paradoxically - or not so paradoxically, since I have been also investigating this case - the political outcome, and since 2020, of this project was that fictitious "daughter" of mine had been on the Met police's databases, as 22 Italian/Albanian female. Supposedly, I must had been given birth to a daughter in Albania in 2002! (!! the "prostitute"; that's believable!! Or two "schizophrenic" sons, Panagiotis Nigiannis, both, Albanians!; born in 2003 and 2004! Golden Dawn's, the BNP's (the XRW component in the UK), and others' cultural "imagination" with regards to Albanians): factually speaking, in 2002, I was living in Athens, Greece, engaged to be married to my former husband, a Greek national, working at MOB (Mauve) Architects, as an architect designer, with an international cohort of colleagues. I got married in 2003. I lived in Athens until 2004, working also at RCTech architects. The records with the fake IDs have been corrected in September 2024. Including records of falsely alleged children of mine born 2002-2004, when I lived and worked in my native Greece. From 1998 until 2002, I was living in the UK, working as an architect; there are no children. I gained my first practical experience working as an architect in the UK, working in private architectural practice from 1999 until 2002. In 2007, I was living in London, since 2005, working as an EU/Greek university lecturer. In 2009, when the G20 summit demonstrations took place in London, with the known case of the death of Ian Tomlison by a police officer, I had been living in the UK since 2005, working as an EU lecturer at the University of East London; I was also known as Betty Nigianni by my students and colleagues. I never participated in any public demonstrations in the UK, but I have attended demonstrations in my native Greece and in 2019 in the Netherlands. There are no children in my medical records, during the whole time I have lived in the UK, which is a total of seventeen years, plus, twelve of those being a British citizen. Greek children take their father's surname and Greeks don't have many children; they're suffering from a shrinking population, although they are in the EU since 1981. My concerns about serious international organised criminal activity (not even honouring children's basic rights) were reported and confirmed by the Greek, Scandinavian and Albanian authorities. The British authorities have been lagging behind for a long time, intentionally, with their impossible unverified "stories", bashing the left and the liberals - or whatever is left of them - and whoever is decent - whatever has been left of that, too. The Greek police confirmed in 2024 all claims about children, also between 2002 and 2004, have been dismissed. The Greek Golden Dawn - with their "Big Idea" (Megali Idea) of conquering foreign countries, like North Macedonia, and their chronic attacks on immigrants and refugees in Greece - was convicted as a criminal organisation in October 2020. They invented the 'concept' of the 'Real Greek', dependent on any Greek's political orientation. Now they're losing their sixty seven (67) appeals - and early releases. The conversation took place during the period Golden Dawn was prosecuted in the Greek High Courts of Justice (Areios Pagos), 2015-2020. Many non-EU immigrants to Greece provided testimonies in the courts, despite the fact they were frightened. Manolis Glezos was the only Greek politician, who went to visit Magda Fyssa, Pavlos' mother, in the Greek courts. For Pavlos Fyssas, aka Killah P; assassinated at age 34. For Alain Badiou, a communist-Maoist political philosopher, and the OP. For the missing Albanian and of Albanian ethnicity immigrants. For Michalis Katsouris; assassinated at age 29. For the "Other Greek Left". Thanks to the Albanian embassy in London, the Tirane and Durres police, as well as the Durres prosecutor. Thanks to Edi Rama.and his Socialist Party, a coalition of left-wing parties, government. Thanks to the Norwegian Labour Party government. Thanks also to Skopje police and Prishtine police. Thanks to the Italian police at Bari. Last but not least: thanks to the Greek police chief, Marinos Stagakis, and the Greek police organised crime division, specifically Ioannis Papakostas, who spoke to me on the phone in the summer of 2022. Thanks to the US London embassy that came in late, in the summer of 2024. Thanks to the very few Met police officers, who eventually figured it out, as well as those British and others working behind the scenes for the last three years or so and more recently. It would not have been possible without them. It has been a long process with many obstacles along the way, seemingly insurmountable, but as proven not. For peace and for safeguarding democracy and everything that comes with it. Ongoing investigatory research, with legal and political activism, surrounded by artworks, 2016-2024. References: Fred C. Abrahams, "Modern Albania: From Dictatorship to Democracy in Europe", New York: New York University Press, 2015. Counterextremism Project, "Violent, Right-wing Extremism and Terrorism - Transnational Connectivity, Definitions, Incidents, Structures and Countermeasures", November 2020, available online.

This project combines artistic and anthropological research on spontaneous gardening in open public space, predominantly in Brno, CZ. The team, mostly comprising recent graduates and graduate students of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Brno University of Technology, chose gardens and plantings which were, in most cases, rather exceptional. Unlike most typical front gardens, the ones in this study are somehow peculiar, due to their location, their composition and planting schemes, their scale, or methods of those who garden there. The anthropologists on the team analyzed a Facebook group dedicated to street gardening and conducted several interviews, while the artistic team responded to particular places with which they interacted. Some results of this research have been presented to the public in the form of an application comprising an audioguide and an interactive map; this exposition in the Journal of Artistic Research documents some of these findings. The team Barbora Lungová is a visual artist and has taught at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Brno University of Technology since 2007. Her field of practice is painting and art projects focusing on plants, gardening, and queerness. She is the coordinator of the Partisans with a Hoe project. Lucia Bergamaschi is a visual artist working across the media of photography, sound, and installation. She earned an MA in Fine Art at Università Iuav di Venezia and an MA in Law at Università di Bologna. She is currently finishing her MA studies at the FFA BUT. Nela Maruškevičová combines painting, installations, and glass in her artistic practice. She is a 2023 graduate of the FFA BUT. Kateřina Konvalinová is a visual artist interested in the overlapping spaces of art, communal life, farming, and ritual. She earned her MA in Fine Arts from the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, and is currently a doctoral student at the FFA BUT. Iva Balcaříková is a graphic designer and a member of the team behind the curated audio walks created by Galerie Art in Brno. She is currently finishing her MA studies at the FFA BUT. Hana Drštičková is a visual artist and a social anthropologist interested in environmental and queer topics. She graduated with an MA in Fine Arts from the FFA BUT in 2022 and with a BA in social anthropology from the Faculty of Social Sciences at Masaryk University and is currently a doctoral student at the Gender Studies Department of Charles University in Prague. Anastasia Blokhina is a social anthropologist who graduated with an MA tfrom the Faculty of Social Sciences of Masaryk University in 2022. Polyna Davydenko is a photographer and a video artist who documents social and environmental issues in her work, most recently those connected with the war in Ukraine. Filip Dušek is a media artist who studied at the Department of Photography at the FFA BUT. The project was conducted under the Specific Research FaVU-S-23-8441 Program.

Throughout the history of China, from early dynasties into contemporary times, aspects of poetry, painting, and writing have been grounded in varied but deeply connected ‘rules of rhythm’. These ‘rules’ permeate in diverse yet identifiable and recognizable forms. The research in this project is aimed at both adopting and adapting these rules of rhythm or rhythmic patterns in an experimental form that reimagines a tradition of ‘lyric aesthetics’ in the context of the contemporary interplay between sound, image, and writing. In this sense, the investigation is at once one of ‘reclamation’ and extension. The basic ‘question’ in these experiments is whether it is possible to represent sonic patterns themselves — that is, by both visualizing sound structures and ‘sonifying’ visual forms (irrespective of textual content). The text focuses on the historical establishment of methodological approaches (as a way to identify their forms) and then transforming/translating these in combinations made possible by blending the sonic and visual. As a particular attribute of Chinese expression, these ‘rules’ or forms are cultural traits that have endured through many centuries and challenges and, more importantly in this case, can be (re)iterated in dynamic, fluid, and revitalized contemporary artistic configurations that aim at seeing sound, writing sound, and performing rhythm. Download Accessible PDF

Tutustuminen koillisen Siperian alkuperäiskansojen musiikkiin on ollut koko musiikillisen ajatteluni käännekohta. Se ei ole ainoastaan vaikuttanut kuulemiseeni vaan myös kyseenalaistanut ymmärrystäni musiikista. Muutos ajattelussani alkoi kenttämatkoilla koilliseen Siperiaan, Sahaliniin, Kamtšatkaan ja Tšukotkaan vuosina 2004–2019, jolloin tutustuin paleosiperialaisten alkuperäiskansojen lauluperinteeseen, musiikkiin, jollaista en koskaan aikaisemmin ollut kuullut, mutta joka outoudestaan huolimatta lumosi minut. Mielenkiintoni herätti erityisesti tšuktšien henkilölaulu, joka kuuluu arktisten alkuperäiskansojen kulttuuriperinteeseen. Siinä musiikki ei ole vain ihmisen aikaansaama tuotos vaan osa hänen identiteettiään. Tohtorintutkintoni Kuulokulmia koillisen Siperian alkuperäiskansojen musiikkiin koostuu viidestä taiteellisesta osiosta ja kirjallisesta osiosta. Kirjallinen osio Kuulokulmia tšuktšien henkilölauluun – Säveltämällä kuuleminen taiteellisen tutkimuksen menetelmänä on musiikillinen tutkimusmatka tšuktšien henkilölauluun. Taiteellisen tutkimukseni peruskysymyksenä on, mikä tässä musiikissa koskettaa minua niin voimakkaasti, etten voi sitä sivuuttaa. Kuulokulmat tutkimukseni otsikossa eivät merkitse vain kuuntelemista, vaan häilyväisen ja usein hyvin ristiriitaisen kuulemisen ja musiikin tekemisen vuorovaikutuksessa syntyvää ymmärrystä. Kuulokulmat on tutkimusprosessi, jossa säveltäminen on toiminut tutkimukseni menetelmänä. Sen avulla olen taiteellisia osioita työstäessäni pyrkinyt ymmärtämään, kuinka tšuktšien musiikki käyttäytyy. Taiteellinen tutkimukseni on kuin kalastusretki. Viitekehys on kalaverkkoni, jonka punoslankana on muusikon hiljainen, kokemuksellinen tieto. Siitä on kudottu verkon solmut: kenttämatkojen kokemukset ja kohtaamiset tšuktšien kanssa. Näihin yhdistyvät aiempi etnomusikologinen tutkimus, fenomenologia, musiikin perusolemuksen filosofia ja luonnon äänimaailma. Tutkimus jakaantuu kolmeen osaan. Ensimmäisessä osassa tutustutaan tšuktšeihin ja heidän kulttuuriinsa, josta he itse kertovat äänitettyjen keskustelujen ja matkapäiväkirjojen muistiinpanojen välityksellä. Toinen osa keskittyy tšuktšien laulukulttuurin ominaispiirteisiin, joka ovat avautuneet kuuntelemisen, muistiinkirjoittamisen ja musiikin tekemisen kautta. Esittelen niitä runsaan 30 nuotinnoksen ja niihin liitettyjen äänitysten avulla. Kolmas osa kertoo säveltämällä kuulemisen prosessista työstäessäni taiteellisia osioita Ulitan kävely, Ääni vastaa ääneen, Musiikin virta, Henkilölaulua etsimässä ja Polar Voices. Jupik-vanhimman Asikongaun laulun sanoin olen usein ihmetellyt: Kuinka saan kalan vedettyä ylös vedestä? Saaliiksi on tullut paljon kaloja, joita monet muut jo ennen minua ovat kalastaneet. Mutta myös muutama uusi kala on tarttunut verkkoon. Niitä ovat horisontaalinen harmonia, sattumanvaraisuus ja hiljaisuus musiikkina, tai kun ihminen on musiikin kanssa kahden. Ne ovat uusia kuulokulmia siihen, mitä musiikki minulle on. Getting to know the music of the indigenous people of north-eastern Siberia has been a turning point in my perception of music. It has not only influenced my hearing but has also made me question my understanding of what music is. The change in my thought process began with the fieldtrips that I carried out in north-eastern Siberia, specifically in Sakhalin, Kamchatka and Chukotka between 2004–2019, when I became acquainted with the musical traditions of the Paleo-Siberian indigenous peoples. Never before had I encountered music like this, yet despite its strangeness it enchanted me. My interest was particularly awakened by the Chukchi Personal Song, which belongs to the cultural traditions of the indigenous people of the Arctic. Music is not just an outcome of human activity but is part of their identity. My Doctoral degree, Aspects of hearing the music of north-eastern Siberia consists of five artistic components as well as a thesis. The thesis, Aspects of hearing the Chukchi Personal Song – Hearing through composing as an artistic research method is a musical expedition into the Chukchi Personal Song. The question at the root of my artistic research is: What in this music touches me so strongly that I cannot pass over it? The title of my research – Aspects of hearing – does not only mean listening, but rather the understanding created by the interaction of ambiguous and often contradictory hearing and music making. Aspects of hearing is a research process in which composing is used as a research method. Through composing I have tried to understand how the music of the Chukchi behaves. I would compare my artistic research to a fishing trip. The theoretical framework is my fishing net, which has been woven from the thread the tacit knowledge and the experience of a musician. From this fibre the knots of the fishing net have been woven. These are my experiences from field trips when I lived with the Chukchi and from earlier ethnomusicological research, phenomenology, the philosophy of the essence of music and the soundscape of nature. The thesis is divided into three parts: Part one introduces the Chukchi and their culture, as they speak themselves in recorded conversations and through the notes in my travel diaries. The second part concentrates on the characteristics of the Chukchi singing tradition that have revealed themselves through my listening, notation and composing. These have been presented by over 30 notations and their attached recordings. The third part concentrates on the process of hearing as I composed the artistic components: Ulita’s Walk, Sound answers Voice, The Flow of Music, Seeking the Personal Song and Polar Voices. In the words of the song of the Yupik Elder, Asikongaun, I have often wondered “how to pull the fish out of water”. I have caught a lot of fish, which are the same species that many fishermen before me caught. However, there are also new fish that have been have caught in my net, such as horizontal harmony, music that one hears randomly or in silence, or indeed when a human being is alone with music. These are the new aspects of hearing which reveal what music is for me.

This artistic research exposition unfolds the shared work between Australian composer Liza Lim and Swedish violinist Karin Hellqvist, from the viewpoint of Hellqvist as performer and co-creator. Together, the artists have created the violin solo work One and the Other (Speculative Polskas for Karin) (2021–22). The Swedish folk music tradition that Hellqvist has carried with her since her childhood, and especially the polska dance, serves as their point of departure. This tradition resides in Hellqvist’s body and performance practice as embodied knowledge – a term introduced by Maurice Merleau-Ponty (1962), and it becomes their main path of research. A central concept in the reflections is the ‘artistic palette’ – a concept created by Hellqvist to conceptualise the skills and abilities used in creative work. Hellqvist’s embodied knowledge connected to the tradition is woven into the work through explorations of elements as the specific pulse of the polska and its ornamentation. Furthermore, those embodied skills are explored as decoupled in the third movement, capturing indeterminate aspects. The main question addressed is how the embodied knowledge of Hellqvist’s artistic palette serves as resource and inspiration in the shared process and how it affects the ontology of One and the Other (Speculative Polskas for Karin). Topics of distributed creativity, shared work as mycelial structure, instrument-building, ownership, and temporal ecology are being unpacked in the light of the artistic palette. The artistic research exposition unfolds a compositional process whereby the performer is participating actively, thus problematising the view of where creativity may be located in compositional work. It comprises written reflections, audio examples, pictures, and video material from the creative process as well as a video of the whole work. The research context comprises historical and aesthetic perspectives, as well as recent research on performer creativity and embodiment. Download Accessible PDF