Nothing left unsaid

Abstract

The overarching objective of the studio-based research titled Nothing Left Unsaid that underpins this thesis is the investigation of how one may take the intimacy that exists between two people, to create an artwork that paradoxically relies on autobiography while attempting not to reveal the details of that autobiography. The aim is to use the intimacy and failings of the author’s marital relationship to frame the limits of the work. Instead of focusing on personal minutiae, the research explores the ethics of a relationship, as well as the dynamics of interpersonal interactions when two people meet face to face. In this thesis, the face-to-face encounter is defined and explored through the philosophical ideas of Emmanuel Levinas (1906-1995) who sees the encounter between people as central to human existence. At the core of it is an ethics of the responsibility we have as human beings towards each other. In referencing Levinas, an ethical criterion is established from which to investigate the author’s relationship and “universalize” the story – accessibility is one of the principal objectives of the research. The challenge is how to convey what has been shaped by personal experience without the emotional expression often associated with autobiographical work. The studio-based work and thesis use autobiography to reflect on love and conflict, intimacy and distance, pain and resolution.