Ada Booth collaboration
Following Millicent’s recommendation, I have approached Sam Gibbard (Ada Booth Senior Project Manager) to collaborate on an initiative presenting an exhibition of new works. My aim is to highlight how the Ada Booth Collection – as a primary resource for my theoretical studies – informs my practice-led research and creative outputs.
The initiative will emphasise the interrelationship between my PhD research and the Ada Booth Slavic Collection’s focus on the Russian avant-garde within contemporary art contexts (Monash University 2025). Its objective is to underscore and celebrate the essential connection between practice and theory. This approach is grounded in the recognition that relevant literature should be valued and prioritised within contemporary art discourse.
Millicent further observed that the challenges I faced while advocating the perspective during the search for a suitable PhD candidature underscore the importance of the Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture (MADA) at Monash University, recognising my interdisciplinary approach, which equally values scholarly and practice-led research. Notably, Millicent was appointed by MADA to supervise the theoretical component of my thesis.
Draw from European avant-garde artists – such as El Lissitzky, Alexandre Rodchenko, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy and post-Modernist Sigmar Polke – whose practices were grounded in the principles of Faktura..
Russian scholars – including art theorists David Burliuk and philosopher Alexandre Kojève – will provide a theoretical framework for the creative outputs.
Lissitzky’s “experiments on space creation [and] his research on a method to make the observer move … along a path provided or guided by the artist” (Ayiter 2015, 30) will serve as tools for figuratively and metaphorically navigating the present and engaging with notions of uncertainty and potential of new beginnings.
Milestone presentation:
Potential to present proposed project for my confirmation of candidature Milestone.
Discuss with KT.
Bibliography
Monash University. 2025. “Ada Booth Slavic Collection.” Monash University | Library. https://www.monash.edu/library/find-and-borrow/special-collections/ada-booth-rare-collections.
Ayiter, Elif. 2015. “‘Smooth Space’ for Avatars: A Proun in the Metaverse.” In Analyzing Art, Culture, and Design in the Digital Age, edited by Gianluca Mura, 26–38. Hershey, PA: IGI Global Scientific Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-8679-3.ch003.