Methodology

This research adopts a practice-based methodological framework, in which artistic production functions as a primary mode of inquiry into the ontological and perceptual status of time, with particular focus on the proposition that the present moment does not exist as a stable entity. The methodology is situated at the intersection of visual art, philosophy, and scientific models of temporality, and operates through an iterative, reflexive, and experimentally driven process.

1. Research Design: Practice-Based Inquiry

The project is grounded in a practice-based research paradigm, where knowledge is generated through the reciprocal interaction between artistic practice and critical reflection. The artworks function as epistemic instruments, enabling the investigation of temporal phenomena beyond the limits of discursive reasoning.

This is evidenced in projects documented in the research journal, such as:

• the slow-motion video of a performative painting action, in which a red horizontal line is gradually applied across a canvas,

• and the longitudinal photographic documentation of a fixed site (“Danger Soft Mud”), captured repeatedly over time.

In both cases, the works do not represent time but operate on it, transforming artistic practice into an investigative procedure.

2. Iterative and Emergent Process

The research follows a non-linear, iterative structure, where each artistic experiment generates new conceptual problems.

For example:

• The line-painting video initially explores duration and continuity, but through slow motion it reveals a paradox: the act of marking time becomes temporally diffuse, making it impossible to isolate a singular “present” moment.

• This leads to further investigation in the fixed-point photographic series, where repeated captures of the same scene demonstrate that each image is already temporally displaced.

These projects illustrate how the research evolves through feedback loops, where outcomes are not conclusions but generative disruptions that redefine the research trajectory.

3. Artistic Methods as Research Tools

The methodology employs a set of artistic strategies as controlled experimental systems:

• Slow-motion video
  → e.g., the painting process filmed in natural light and temporally stretched
  → reveals micro-temporal structures invisible in real-time perception

• Sequential photography
  → e.g., repeated documentation of the “Danger Soft Mud” sign
  → produces a temporal series where difference emerges through repetition

• Performative gestures
  → e.g., the act of drawing a line
  → functions as a measurable yet unstable temporal event

In each case, the artistic act is treated analogously to a scientific experiment, where variables (duration, repetition, viewpoint) are deliberately constrained.

4. Time as Experimental Variable

Time is systematically manipulated as an independent variable.

This is particularly evident in:

• the slow-motion video work, where the temporal stretching of a simple action destabilises the perception of simultaneity,

• and the daily photographic practice, where fixed intervals expose the discontinuity between recorded moments.

These experiments demonstrate that:

• the “present” cannot be captured without transformation,

• and that all recorded time is structurally retrospective.

Thus, the methodology empirically tests the hypothesis that the present is ontologically inaccessible.

5. Documentation as Data

The research journal itself operates as a methodological instrument, not merely a repository.

For instance:

• process images and notes from the line-painting experiment document the relationship between gesture, duration, and recording,

• sequential entries in the photographic project track subtle environmental and temporal changes,

• reflective texts articulate shifts in conceptual understanding.

This material enables process-based analysis, where the evolution of the work becomes traceable and critically examinable.

6. Critical and Theoretical Framework

The practical work is continuously interpreted through a theoretical framework drawing on:

• philosophy of time (e.g., the non-coincidence of perception and temporality),

• phenomenology (the impossibility of experiencing a pure “now”),

• and physics (time as a measurable but non-localisable dimension).

For example:

• the delay inherent in photographic capture supports the claim that every image is already past-oriented,

• while the temporal dilation in video exposes the constructed nature of perceived continuity.

Thus, the artworks function as case studies within a broader conceptual investigation.

7. Epistemological Position

The research adopts a hybrid epistemology in which knowledge is produced through:

• material processes (painting, filming, photographing),

• temporal manipulation, and

• critical reflection.

The line-painting video, for instance, generates knowledge not through symbolic meaning but through direct temporal experience, where duration becomes perceptually unstable.

Similarly, the photographic series produces insight through accumulation and comparison, rather than singular representation.

8. Outcomes and Contribution

The integration of these methods results in:

• a body of artworks that function as experimental models of time,

• a written exegesis that articulates their implications,

• and a methodological contribution, demonstrating how artistic practice can operate as a form of temporal research.

9. Exhibition as Method

A key methodological component of this research is the Work in Progress Exhibition presented at Bath Spa University (Locksbrook Campus). Within a practice-based PhD framework, the exhibition does not function as a final presentation but as an active research environment. It operates as a site where hypotheses about time and perception are tested through material, spatial, and perceptual configurations.

The installation integrates multiple forms of temporal representation, including longitudinal photographic data (365 images), affective recordings, infographic visualisations, and moving image works. These elements form a structured experimental system in which time is not treated as a neutral continuum but as a constructed and fragmented phenomenon. By bringing these components into a shared spatial context, the exhibition enables direct investigation of how temporal experience is produced and destabilised.

A central element of this methodological setup is the parallel flip book machine, which presents two synchronised yet divergent sequences: one visual (photographic) and one affective (emotional states). The misalignment between these sequences generates a perceptual tension that reveals the impossibility of a unified present. In this sense, the exhibition functions as a performative experiment in which temporal disjunction is not represented but enacted.

10. Sci-Art Methodology

This research operates at the intersection of artistic practice and scientific methodology, forming a hybrid sci-art approach. The project adopts key structural principles from scientific inquiry, including systematic observation, repetition, and controlled conditions, while simultaneously expanding these through subjective and experiential dimensions.

The 365-day photographic process establishes a longitudinal observational model in which a fixed spatial position allows time to emerge as the primary variable. This approach parallels empirical measurement systems, where consistency enables the detection of variation. At the same time, the inclusion of emotional and perceptual data introduces a qualitative dimension that cannot be fully quantified, challenging purely scientific models of time.

The methodology therefore, does not separate art and science but operates through their interaction. Scientific logic provides structure and rigour, while artistic strategies introduce ambiguity, multiplicity, and perceptual depth. Knowledge is produced through this interaction, rather than through either domain independently.

Summary

The methodology constitutes an iterative, practice-led experimental system, in which projects such as the slow-motion painting video and the longitudinal photographic series act as concrete investigative modules. Through these works, the research examines the hypothesis that the present moment is not a stable ontological entity, but a construct that collapses under conditions of observation, recording, and representation.

Methodology

This research adopts a practice-based methodological framework in which artistic production functions as a primary mode of inquiry into the ontological and perceptual status of time, with particular focus on the proposition that the present moment does not exist as a stable entity. The methodology is situated at the intersection of visual art, philosophy, phenomenology, and scientific models of temporality, operating through an iterative, reflexive, and experimentally driven process. As Linda Candy and Ernest Edmonds argue, “research in the arts seeks to generate new knowledge through creative practice” (Candy & Edmonds, 2018). Within this framework, artistic practice is understood not as illustration but as an epistemological system capable of generating forms of knowledge unavailable through purely discursive or analytical methods.

The project is grounded in a practice-based research paradigm in which knowledge emerges through the reciprocal interaction between artistic production and critical reflection. The artworks function as epistemic instruments that investigate temporal instability through material and perceptual operations. Henk Borgdorff suggests that “artistic research seeks not only to interpret the world, but also to reveal what cannot be disclosed in any other way” (Borgdorff, 2012). This principle is central to the methodology, particularly in projects documented in the research journal, including the slow-motion video of a performative painting action, in which a red horizontal line is gradually applied across a canvas, and the longitudinal photographic documentation of a fixed site (“Danger Soft Mud”), repeatedly captured over extended durations. In both cases, the works do not merely represent time but intervene in its perception, transforming artistic practice into a form of experimental investigation.

A crucial aspect of the methodology is the recognition that practice-based research is not unidirectional. The researcher does not remain external to the research process; rather, the subject of investigation actively reshapes the perception, decisions, and conceptual framework of the researcher. This reciprocal structure aligns with Donald Schön’s theory of reflective practice, in which “the practitioner allows himself to experience surprise, puzzlement, or confusion in a situation which he finds uncertain or unique” (Schön, 1983). In this sense, the artworks themselves generate methodological feedback, influencing subsequent actions, interpretations, and theoretical developments.

The methodology therefore assumes a dynamic interaction between observer and observed. The research process becomes a temporal exchange in which the act of investigating time alters the researcher’s own temporal consciousness. This reflexive structure resonates strongly with Brad Haseman’s concept of performative research, where “practice is both the method and the outcome of the research process” (Haseman, 2006). The artistic experiments do not simply produce results; they transform the conceptual conditions under which the research continues.

This reciprocal interaction is especially evident in the slow-motion painting video. Initially conceived as an investigation into duration and continuity, the work gradually altered the researcher’s own perception of temporal flow. Through repeated viewing and manipulation, the filmed gesture ceased to appear continuous and instead fragmented into micro-temporal intervals. The research process therefore generated a perceptual feedback loop in which the investigation itself transformed the phenomenological experience of time. Robin Nelson emphasises this condition in practice-as-research methodologies, arguing that “knowledge emerges through an iterative process of doing, reflecting, and re-doing” (Nelson, 2013). The methodology of the present research operates precisely through this cyclical structure of action and reflexive transformation.

The research follows a non-linear and iterative structure in which each artistic experiment generates new conceptual problems. The line-painting video initially explores duration and continuity, yet through temporal dilation the action becomes perceptually diffuse, making it impossible to isolate a singular “present” moment. This instability leads to further investigations in the fixed-point photographic series, where repeated captures of the same location reveal that every image is already temporally displaced from the moment it attempts to record. Maurice Merleau-Ponty observed that “time is not a line but a network of intentionalities” (Merleau-Ponty, 1962), a concept reflected in the methodological structure of the project, where each work emerges from the temporal incompleteness of the previous one.

The methodology employs artistic strategies as controlled experimental systems. Slow-motion video reveals micro-temporal structures that remain imperceptible in real-time experience, while sequential photography produces temporal differentiation through repetition and accumulation. Performative gestures, such as the act of drawing a line, function simultaneously as measurable actions and unstable temporal events. This approach resonates with Gilles Deleuze’s argument that “repetition changes nothing in the object repeated, but does change something in the mind which contemplates it” (Deleuze, 1994). Repetition in the project therefore becomes not a reproduction of sameness but a mechanism through which temporal instability emerges both in the artwork and in the consciousness of the researcher.

This reciprocal methodological condition can also be understood through Tim Ingold’s conception of making and material engagement. Ingold argues that “to make is to join with the flow of materials” (Ingold, 2013). In the context of this research, the artist does not impose fixed meaning onto time-based processes but enters into a responsive interaction with temporal phenomena themselves. The work evolves through negotiation between intention, material resistance, duration, recording technologies, and perceptual transformation.

Time itself is systematically manipulated as an experimental variable. The temporal stretching of the painting action destabilises the perception of simultaneity, while fixed-interval photographic recordings expose discontinuities between recorded moments. Edmund Husserl’s phenomenology of internal time-consciousness is particularly relevant here, especially his assertion that “the now is always surrounded by horizons of retention and protention” (Husserl, 1991). The methodology tests this proposition empirically by demonstrating that the present cannot be isolated without immediately transforming into memory or anticipation. Every recorded image becomes structurally retrospective.

The practical work is continuously interpreted through a theoretical framework drawing on philosophy of time, phenomenology, cinematic temporality, and physics. Henri Bergson’s distinction between measurable clock time and lived duration is fundamental to the project. Bergson writes that “pure duration is the form which the succession of our conscious states assumes when our ego lets itself live” (Bergson, 1910). This conception informs the slow-motion video works, where temporality ceases to function as measurable succession and instead becomes experiential density. Similarly, Carlo Rovelli destabilises conventional notions of temporal continuity through the proposition that “the world is not a collection of things, it is a collection of events” (Rovelli, 2018). This idea directly supports the methodological proposition that the present cannot exist as a stable entity because reality itself is event-based and relational.

A particularly important influence on the methodology is the cinematic philosophy of Andrei Tarkovsky. Tarkovsky’s concept of “sculpting in time” provides a crucial theoretical and methodological parallel to the project’s investigation of temporal instability. In Sculpting in Time, Tarkovsky argues that “the image becomes authentically cinematic when not only does it live within time, but time also lives within it” (Tarkovsky, 1986). This understanding of temporality as materially embedded rather than externally measured directly informs the structure of the slow-motion painting video and the longitudinal photographic series. In both cases, time is not represented symbolically but materially inscribed into the work itself.

The epistemological position of the research is therefore fundamentally relational. Knowledge emerges through interaction between artistic action, temporal processes, recording systems, perception, and reflection. Erin Manning’s writings on movement and relational process are particularly relevant here. Manning argues that “research-creation is not about objects but about modes of relation” (Manning, 2016). The methodology of this project similarly understands artistic research as a process in which the artwork, the researcher, and the temporal phenomenon under investigation continuously affect one another.

A key methodological component of the research is the Work in Progress Exhibition presented at Bath Spa University (Locksbrook Campus). Within the practice-based PhD framework, the exhibition functions not as a final presentation but as an active research environment in which hypotheses concerning time and perception are materially tested. The installation integrates longitudinal photographic data, affective recordings, infographic visualisations, moving image works, and a parallel flip-book machine presenting synchronised yet divergent visual and emotional sequences. The perceptual misalignment generated by these parallel structures exposes the impossibility of a unified present. In this sense, the exhibition itself becomes a performative temporal experiment.

Ultimately, the methodology constitutes an iterative, reflexive, and practice-led experimental system in which artistic processes do not merely investigate time but actively transform the researcher’s own temporal consciousness. The projects therefore function simultaneously as artworks, experiments, and reciprocal epistemological encounters through which the instability of the present moment becomes perceptually and conceptually observable.

References

Barrett, E., & Bolt, B. (2010). Practice as Research: Approaches to Creative Arts Enquiry. London: I.B. Tauris.

Bergson, H. (1910). Time and Free Will: An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness. London: George Allen & Unwin.

Borgdorff, H. (2012). The Conflict of the Faculties: Perspectives on Artistic Research and Academia. Leiden: Leiden University Press.

Candy, L., & Edmonds, E. (2018). The Routledge Companion to Research in the Arts. London: Routledge.

Deleuze, G. (1994). Difference and Repetition. New York: Columbia University Press.

Gray, C., & Malins, J. (2004). Visualizing Research: A Guide to the Research Process in Art and Design. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Husserl, E. (1991). On the Phenomenology of the Consciousness of Internal Time (1893–1917). Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Merleau-Ponty, M. (1962). Phenomenology of Perception. London: Routledge.

Rovelli, C. (2018). The Order of Time. New York: Riverhead Books.

Sullivan, G. (2010). Art Practice as Research: Inquiry in Visual Arts (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Tarkovsky, A. (1986). Sculpting in Time. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Wilson, S. (2010). Art + Science Now. London: Thames & Hudson.

Haseman, B. (2006). “A Manifesto for Performative Research.” Media International Australia, 118(1), 98–106.

Ingold, T. (2013). Making: Anthropology, Archaeology, Art and Architecture. London: Routledge.

Manning, E. (2016). The Minor Gesture. Durham: Duke University Press.

Nelson, R. (2013). Practice as Research in the Arts: Principles, Protocols, Pedagogies, Resistances. London: Palgrave Macmillan.

Schön, D. A. (1983). The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books.