Expressing liminality through a reflective practice account of Dismotief

Abstract

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.