Centre for Women's Studies

Towards a collaborative analysis of Artwork and Metaphor

Posted on 20 March 2024

On 8th March 2024, Lizzie Merrill, a WRoCAH-funded CWS doctoral candidate, presented a paper “Towards a collaborative analysis of Artwork and Metaphor” at the Centre for Women’s Studies’ own conference, Sisterhood in Action

Lizzie’s paper offered an insight into her PhD study’s methodology, how the project has been developing and the outcomes of several participatory workshops she led as fieldwork. (From November 2022 – March 2023, Lizzie led one-on-one, art-making workshops with several participants based on Jo Spence’s artistic practice of Photofantasy. These sessions focussed on expressing experiences of cancer patienthood through creative methods.)

The collaborative aspect of Lizzie’s presentation came in the form of an invitation for audience members to respond to the artworks on show. As well as offering brief introductions to the concepts behind each piece, Lizzie used the session to collage ideas between presenter and audience.