Tamar Jeffers McDonald – The Haunted Portrait: Creative practice as critical approach

While my written work has explored the lasting influence of the ‘woman-in-jeopardy’ strand of the Gothic, I am now beginning a strand of creative practice, in order to engage with the Gothic’s problematic themes. In this new work I will exploit the well-known visual tropes emblematic of the core elements of the paperback Gothic romance – the isolated heroine in or fleeing from the Old Dark House on the lonely moor, the lone lit window in the desolate castle – playfully redeploying them.

This creative work borrows images and sounds from pre-existing sources, including book covers, magazines, library music and sound effects, employing them in collage and film in order to refocus attention on aspects of the Gothic genre that have become so familiar as to be taken for granted. Looking again, I want to prompt consideration of why we as readers and viewers still find enjoyment in tales that are veiled parables of domestic abuse and coercive control.

In this session I will be demonstrating some of the outputs of this new creative approach. Workshop participants (both in person and online) can then enjoy making their own Gothic collage. This is part of the REG Material Histories Research and Knowledge Exchange Activities.