I am because we are

Abstract

This thesis contextualizes the three series of work that I have produced for my MFA. My chief concerns are with the dynamic between the individual and the collective, and how this is symbolically represented in lists of names. I also suggest that an underlying sense of communitas, or equality, is evoked through lists of names. I explore this idea further in an examination of various memorials where the naming of those commemorated is a major element of the work. I then describe the work that I have made, and connect it to other artworks that also use lists of names in order to explore the idea of what it is to be both an individual and a member of a group. I suggest that artworks and memorials are potent as carriers of symbolic meaning because they allow space and time for contemplation. In addition to the use of names, I also look at artworks that use items that have belonged to people as substitutes for those people, and as metaphors for humanity. My work utilises human hair and socks, but other artists use different types of contiguous possessions as stand-ins for individuals. The examples are chosen to investigate the variety of tropes available for memorial designers and artists, and in order to see the way diverse materials can be used to investigate similar concerns.