Aoife Monks - Curating Costume Work / Research Process
Introduction
Research Process
Outputs: Exhibition 'Costume at the National Theatre'
Dissemination

Research Process

Collaboration with photographer Seamus Ryan 

 

From September 2018-June 2019 I collaborated with the photographer Seamus Ryan to capture the work cultures of the NT costume department. This involved:

  • Initial observations, in which we spent time with the department, observing the many forms of work taking place there, and the spaces in which it took place. Ryan took a set of initial images of our first impressions.
  • I wrote up my observations around themes such as tools, details, spaces, taxonomy, logistics, collaboration, chorography and memory, and shared these with Ryan.
  • Ryan then took photographs following these themes.
  • I then rewrote this material to respond to his images and shaped my curatorial approach around what I discovered through my work with him.
  • The following images are some examples from this process – some of which also ended up in the NT photography book to accompany the exhibition.

Spaces

 

Tools

 

Experimentation

Logistics

 

Taxonomies

 

Sourcing

 

Collaboration

 

Timing

 

Sociability

 

Excellence