Barelek

Barbara Droth is a researcher and filmmaker.

Brief Intro

Barbara's main interest is the documentation and archiving of performance. She is interested in the representation of 'the artist' and of live art. She is based in London.

She took part in the TaPRA workshop led by Toni Slant.

Barbara applies visual methods in qualitative research. She also conducts life history interviews for groups such as Four In Ten, a mental health support group based in the Maudsley Hospital in Southwark.

She uses narrative analysis and is a member of The Centre of Narrative Research.

About the Thesis

Barbara's thesis is a ‘practice-led’ project that uses observational documentation methods, a long-term collaboration with three live artists, and a narrative analysis to encourage a visual way of ‘knowing’ the person who makes live art, the performance work itself and the reality of producing and archiving live art.

The thesis investigates the three artists’ representations of the body, specifically their strategies to compel a disruptive reading of nudity, femininity and motherhood. Other performative strategies found in these artists’ work lead to discussions on ritual enfleshed in performance, based on Richard Schechner’s (1995) understanding of iterative practices, and of participatory incantations that integrate narratives found in myths into narratives of selfhood and community.