The Glasgow School of Art

The three-part research project by Melissa Canbaz for the Masters of Research programme at The Glasgow School of Art, takes the form of a thesis, a so-called setting, and a publication. While the thesis provides a discursivation of how to show the substance of curatorial thinking, the other components have a collaborative, documentary and dialogical approach in ‘making process visible’.

'Slide to Unlock' (stretch back) is a setting created by the Berlin-based artist Hella Gerlach. In this work, she combines her ceramic objects with bands of fabric that are suspended from the ceiling to create a sensible and elegant installation which structures the space and triggers possibilities of performative gestures for the visitor. References to the human body are furthered by the textile installation that defines the space by shaping angles and an intimate “room within a room” titled Studiolo, created for the size of one person. Starting with the form and idea of an imaginary practice, Gerlach, performatively and reflexively, suggests an idea of the physical experience of space as thought-provoking meaning or “mental stretch”. The sculptures form a setting as part of a dialogical space of experience.

The publication is a collection of written and visual comments on the development of the project – such as the dialogical within the setting, between the participants and the visualisation of research. It includes contributions by Constantin Alexander, Patrick Cole, Gwenan Davies, Sofia Duchovny, Fiona McGovern, Amy Stickland, Sarah Tripp and Dominic Watson.

The result aims to orchestrate a conversational setting that will explore possible outcomes through different formats, by claiming a collaborative authorship.