Autoethnos

‘Autoethnos’ was an exhibition at the C&C Gallery in London April-July 2018, featuring works by three sculptors, Susan Diab, Caroline Pick and Isobel Smith, each using autoethnographic approaches. The exhibition was curated by Diab, who created four of the sculptures and developed the intellectual groundwork in autoethnographic practice. To date, autoethnographic methodologies and analyses have favoured narrative forms, particularly the written word. Diab drew on her own practice and those of fellow autoethnographers to develop an understanding of the relationships between fine art practice and its exhibited form. Using the process of sculpture and curation, and drawing on her own research into narrative and linguistic studies, Diab investigated the elements of autoethnography that informed artefact production. The research addressed two specific questions: how can autoethnographic research processes translate into the making of new visual artworks for public exhibition; and what is revealed when physical materials, rather than words, are worked upon autoethnographically. Diab convened a symposium in the early weeks of the exhibition which brought Dr Alec Grant, an authority on autoethnographic methods, together with other autoethnographers and a public audience. This generated debate on the process and reception of the artefacts, leading to new understandings of the relationship between making and thought, and fostering the development of autoethnography beyond narrative practices. Deeper understanding of the work arose from contemplation of the artworks after the exhibition, a process taken to Open Studios discussions with visitors and other artists, for example at the Art Producing Economic Community (APEC) Open Studios. Diab disseminated the findings further in a conference paper, ‘Autoethnos: stories from the self’, at the Fifth British Autoethnography conference, Bristol, July 2018.