PhD Cohort 2014
HEI: University of Glasgow (co-supervised with DJCAD, University of Dundee)
Funding: AHRC DTP
Project Title: Affective Intentionalities: Practising Performance with Roland Barthes’ Camera Ludica
Supervisors: Prof. Deirdre Heddon, Prof. Carl Lavery, Ms Pernille Spence
What was your research about?
My PhD was an attempt to develop performance work in response to Roland Barthes’ 1980 book about photography, Camera Lucida. I made three performances over the course of the PhD: an intimate one-on-one installation in a dark room with a clicking slide projector; a 4 hour durational performance where audience members could come and go, made up of 12 sections of material performed 4 times in a random order; and a site-specific performance installation for 30 people (on stage at the Citizens’ Theatre in Glasgow) where I developed a series of choreographed poses in response to slowed down footage of my mum holding me as a baby. The performances interrogated Barthes’ ideas of grief, loss and the affective power of images to develop methods of creative performance response to critical writing.
Read more here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13528165.2019.1641331
What made you apply for the SGSAH AHRC DTP?
I was in a teaching role and considering doing a PhD. My colleague at the time, and prospective supervisor, Dee Heddon convinced me to apply for SGSAH funding to be able to complete the project full time. I remember her saying something like, ‘you’ll never get another chance to spend 3 years purely doing research’. How right she was!
Which aspects of your PhD did you enjoy the most?
The opportunity to spend focussed time developing a body of creative-critical work without worrying about arts funding or commissions. The rigorous but supportive guidance and encouragement of my supervisors.
How has your PhD helped you to decide on a career path?
It made me realise that I wanted to pursue opportunities as an artist working within academia (even if the journey to a secure position has been a less straight-forward path!).
And where are you now?
Having worked on two significant post-doc projects (Digital Thinker in Residence at National Theatre of Scotland and Research Associate on the Walking Publics/Walking Arts project) I am currently Lecturer in Digital Theatre and Performance-Making and Programme Director of the MA Immersive Arts based in the Theatre Department at the University of Bristol. I published a co-edited collection with Will Daddario that developed from my PhD work (Rethinking Roland Barthes through Performance, Bloomsbury/Methuen Drama, 2023). I am currently working on a short monograph on The Expanded Dramaturgies of Virtual Reality Performance for Methuen’s Performance and Digital Cultures Series expected in 2027.
One piece of advice you would give an incoming PhD researcher?
Try to enjoy the journey, and you’ll never read everything but that’s ok.
Where can people find you?
Researcher Profile: https://research-information.bris.ac.uk/en/persons/harry-r-wilson
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harry-wilson-78830627a/