Found inform

This thesis, found inform documents a personal meditation on space and considers the way it frames our experience within constructed environments. Focusing on the realm of cultural institutions where art is exhibited, I propose that a meaningful interaction with spaces, places and art affords significant opportunities for self-reflection. As an artist working with the medium of photography, I ask how photographs can communicate the perceptual experience of spatial encounters? Central to this question are the theories of French philosopher Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who describes, from a phenomenological perspective, the foundational role perception plays in understanding and engaging the world. In this context it is also important to explore the views of architect and theorist Juhani Pallasmaa, and artist/commentator Andrea Fraser. My research considers the work of artists who address the perceptual dimension of space through architectural interventions, including Victor Pasmore, Richard Hamilton and Sarah Oppenheimer. Photographic representations of spatial experience are also investigated in the contemporary work of Thomas Struth, Candida Hofer and Hiroshi Sugimoto, all of whom engage with sites of cultural and historical significance. Finally I discuss the supporting body of work presented as a series of photographs taken in art spaces during the course of this investigation.