On belonging, identity and affect: artistic representations of gender in late 20th century.

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This PhD will approach 'art' and 'identity' as types of social praxis investigated through archival material, tactile objects and aesthetics. To explore this ethical question, I will turn to specific examples of artistic representations of gender from the late 20th century to confront political and psychoanalytic notions of belonging. In doing this, I will open up a field of greater comparability between the past and present, allowing for an intricate history of society's formation and deformation of belonging. In taking Elspeth Probyn's definition that 'belonging expresses a desire for more than what is, a yearning to make skin stretch beyond individual needs and wants' , I intend to explore the different ways that visual material has considered gender, sexuality and identity for those who have been denied recognition in society. What is it to belong, or to find belonging, when denied recognition visually? Belonging relates to social locations; identifications and emotional attachments; entitlement and status; ethics and politics. How do individuals negotiate this loss of agency through modes of artistic freedom?