Dismotief (dis-motif) is an interdisciplinary production that explores masculinity, identity and
language. The collaborative exhibition, held in the Potchefstroom City Hall in 2012, encompassed
poetry, visual art and musical performances to investigate alternative expressions of Afrikaner
masculinity as part of the on-going postcolonial discourse of whiteness in Africa. The curatorial
design of the exhibition included actual and psychological margins in order to present the audience
with a liminal space. This article presents a post-project reflection of Dismotief as framed by a
practice-based research model in order to investigate the interrelated influence that both a researchled
and practice-led approach had and continues to have on the production process. In this regard
the focus is placed on the curatorial process and eventual design of the exhibition Dismotief as
practice-led research. Simultaneously the research-led process of theorising the exhibition as a
liminal space is investigated. We argue that this reflection facilitates the interrelated relationship
between research and practice as a continuous progression. The methodological documentation of
the project Dismotief is chronologically divided into three phases namely a pre-production reflection,
a production or descriptive reflection and a post-production reflection.
Dismotief is ʼn interdissiplinêre produksie wat manlikheid, identiteit en taal as wegspringpunt
gebruik. Die groepsuitstalling is gehou in die Potchefstroomse stadsaal in 2012 en het onderskeidelik
gebruik gemaak van poësie, klassieke komposisie en visuele kuns om alternatiewe uitdrukkings
van Afrikaner-manlikheid as deel van die voortdurende postkoloniale gesprek oor witheid in
Afrika te ondersoek. Fisiese en psigologiese marginale ruimtes is deur die kuratoriale ontwerp van
die uitstalling bewerkstellig. Dit is gedoen om die gehoor te konfronteer met ʼn liminale ruimte.
Hierdie artikel bied ‘n post-projek- weerspieëling van Dismotief, soos gekonseptualiseer deur ʼn
praktykgebaseerde navorsingsmodel,
om die interafhanklike invloede te ondersoek van beide ʼn
navorsings- en praktykgeleide benadering gedurende en na die produksieproses. In hierdie verband
word aandag geskenk aan die kuratoriale proses en uiteindelike ontwerp van die uitstalling Dismotief
as praktykgeleide navorsing. Terselfdertyd word die teoretisering van die uitstalling - as ʼn liminale
ruimte - ondersoek as navorsingsgeleide praktyk. Ons argumenteer dat hierdie weerspieëling die
voortdurende interafhanklike verhouding tussen navorsing en praktyk fasiliteer. Die metodologiese
dokumentering van die projek Dismotief is chronologies verdeel in drie fases naamlik ʼn pre-produksie
weerspieëling, ʼn produksie of beskrywende weerspieëling sowel as ‘n post-produksie weerspieëling.
