Each month, the Graduate School is sharing a Student Spotlight with our postgraduate research community, highlighting the amazing research being undertaken by our postgraduate researchers.
Our Student Spotlight for April is Suzanne Marie Taylor, a third year PhD student in the School of Art, Design and Performance. Suzanne’s research focuses on interpreting the archaeological remains of a former WW1 submarine chaser: Motor Launch (ML)286, through performance.
Suzanne devised and curated Still Life “Movy”—her practice research performance piece, which is an ethnodrama made up of multi narratives verbatim of her research participants, archival documents, poetical works, her own narrative, and the narratives of those who served in the WW1 Motor Launch Patrol.
In February 2023, Suzanne was awarded a student bursary from the Scottish Archaeological Research Framework (ScARF) to attend the Scotland’s Island Research Framework for Archaeology (SIRFA) symposium, which took place in March in Orkney. Suzanne’s research has a direct link with Orkney’s wartime history, as ML286 served in the Auxiliary Patrol Areas II & III Orkneys and Shetlands, during the First World War. ML286’s Commander—Lt Cdr Geoffrey Stephen Allfree RNVR, was a war artist during the First World War, and his painting Submarined Ship Coming into Kirkwall 1917 is on display at the Scapa Flow Museum on the Island of Hoy, Orkney. Suzanne had the fortunate opportunity to view Lt Allfree’s painting during the SIRFA symposium, while on a fieldtrip to Hoy and the Scapa Flow Museum.
Suzanne’s performance of Still Life “Movy” on the 13th July 2022 in ML286.
On the 13th May 2023, Still Life “Movy” will be performed at Southampton City Art Gallery where two of Lt Allfree’s paintings are archived. The performance is free and there is no need to pre-book.
Lt Allfree’s painting titles:
- Camouflaged ship in Portsmouth Dry Dock
- Camouflaged ship in Southampton Water
Still Life “Movy” will also be featured at the Ventnor Free Fringe on the Isle of Wight in July 2023, and Suzanne is planning on collaborating with other venues for further performances of her show, as a way to share her research with wider audiences.
If you would like to feature in our student spotlight section please email graduate.school@port.ac.uk to discuss this further.