Bibliography

Books

Alighieri, D. (2008) The Devine Comedy. Oxford. Oxford.


Avery, C. (2010) Charles Avery: Onomatopoeia. The Port. Buchhandlung Walther Konig. Berlin.

Bachelard, G. (1994) The Poetics Of Space. Boston. Beacon Press.

Beckett, S. (2000) Waiting for Godot/Endgame. London. Icon Books.

Blyton, E. (2007) The Faraway Tree. Glasgow. Egmont Books.

Bryson, B. (1998) A Walk in the Woods. London. Black Swan.

Burns, C. (2005) Black Hole. London. Jonathon Cape.

Frey, J. (2004) A Million Little Pieces. London. John Murray.

Gaiman, N. (2008) Mirrormask. London. Bloomsbury.

Jacques, B. (2006) Redwall. Red Fox. London.


Martin, G.R.R. (2011) Game of Thrones. London. Harper Voyager.

McCarthy, M. (2006) The Road. London. Picador.


Milton, J. (2003) Paradise Lost. London. Penguin Classics.


Pratchett, T. (2003) Monstrous Regiment. London. Corgi. 


Pullman, P. (2008) His Dark Materials Trilogy. London. Scholastic.

         

          Royle, N. (2003) The Uncanny: An Introduction. Manchester. Manchester University Press.

Stewart, P. (2006) The Edge Chronicles. London. Corgi.

Films


Jason and the Argonauts. (1963). Directed by Don Chaffey. USA: Columbia Pictures. [film].

Peter Pan. (1953). Directed by Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson & Hamilton Luske. USA: Walt Disney. [film]


Pirates of the Caribbean (2003). Directed by Gore Verbinski. USA: Jerry Bruckheimer. [film]

Plays 

The Master and Margarita. by M. Bulgakov. 2011. [play]. 17 November. Plymouth Theatre Royal. Director: Simon McBurney.


Games


SCE Studios Santa Monica. (2005). God of War. [disc]. Santa Monica: Sony.

Waiting for Gogot/Endgame - Samuel Beckett

For the stage is a place to wait. The place itself waits, when no one is in it. (Beckett, 2000 pg75)

Beckett, S (2000) Waiting for Godot/Endgame. London. Icon Books

Defining what the void is a place a space? If no one is there does it exist?

Does Stonehaven exist is it a stage that is waiting for Edward?

It relates to the planes, all these worlds exist and the reason they exist is because they are waiting for people. Is each plane/place different for each person.

The Uncanny

The Uncanny – something beyond the ordinary or the normal

1. Having or seeming to have a supernatural or inexplicable basis; beyond the ordinary or normal; extraordinary: uncanny accuracy; an uncanny knack of foreseeing trouble.

2. Mysterious; arousing superstitious fear or dread; uncomfortably strange: Uncanny sounds filled the house.

Conclusion

The aim of this study was to investigate what ‘the void’ is, through this I hoped to the see how ‘the void’ can be explored as a concept in narrative. The key points of discovery throughout this research project has been to further my understanding of the void in a more in depth way. To do this I needed to first understand the theories and language around ‘the void’. The main theories I used in my research were Bachelard’s  Poetics of Space and Royale’s The Uncanny. Through using these theories I was able to gain a greater understanding of what ‘the void’ might be.

The nature of the void means that it is impossible to give a definitive answer to my question as each exploration of the void through a concept in narrative would be different. Simply, through my own journey into filling the void with narrative I have been able to explore how it could be filled.

The wider implications come now that I have answered one question on the void, through my research an infinite number of new questions have now been created. The significance of this research is that through my exploration and by making my artefact the area of the void that was unexplained has now been explored and understood.

I felt the only way it would be possible for me to explore the void and my question in a creative and fluid way is through making an artefact. I would not have been able to do this through a written research project. To be able to show the void as a concept in narrative it was important that I used the methods of narrative and story telling to try and answer my original question.

The limitations in my research was that it could been seen that I only used a small amount of theorists to try and understand ‘the void’. However I feel that it was important for me to focus on specific theorists that were completely relevant to my research than explore a wider range of theories that might be too expansive.

In the future I would like to research into more theories about ‘the void’ and use it within my work.  I hope to continue my exploration of the adventures of the Stultifera Navis, through this I intend to make a collection of works that are not only rich in content but also in theory, with parents reading it to their children but also academics reading it as an example of the void being used within illustration and narrative.

Artist Research - Bosch - The Garden of Earthly Delight

When thinking about what the plains would look like I thought of this image, to me it looks very uncanny, with familiar things like people, birds and fish doing unfamiliar odd things.

Introduction

For this dissertation module I will be trying to find the answer to the question; what is the void and how can it be explored as a concept in narrative? 

What I understand from this title is that the void is nothing though still a setting where a story can go on.

The outcomes of this dissertation are an artifact that supports my answering of the question; to tie into my practice this artifact will be an illustrated story. The story continues on from the story of Edward Magpie and his ship the Stultifera Navis, which I created in the contextual module in my second year. This story in turn will be supported by research into the theory to answer the question more thoroughly and to understand what the void is. 

The research questions that I would like to answer are:

What is the void?

How can it be explored as a concept in narrative?

What is the uncanny?

This is an area of importance and interest for within my practice I am creating a selection of illustrations and zines/stories centered around the sea that I have entitled ‘Nautical Tails’.  The reason I like the setting of the sea is the fact that it is a void in itself, a surrounding where anything is possible and in some cases no one can prove other wise due to areas of the sea still being undiscovered, a hidden and mysterious world. I am motivated to choose this topic because I want to learn more on the theory of the void so that I can use it in future projects for I’d like to continue with the ‘Nautical Tails’ and also stories of the Stultifera Navis. 

The approach I have taken to research is to firstly look into the dictionary definitions to get an initial/general idea of what the void, the uncanny etc mean. I have then looked into other artists that I interpreted to have used the void as inspiration in their work. I have then looked into deeper theory at the same time as writing my artifact story, this method has been continued throughout this project. 

 The main theorists I researched for my written project were Gaston Bachelard whose book, 'The Poetics of Space' where, amongst other things, talks a lot about the void in a variety of different contexts and Nicholas Royle who explains the uncanny in his book 'The Uncanny: An Introduction'.

Abstract

The topic I looked into was ‘the void’ and how it can be explored as a concept in narrative. This is an interesting area of research for me as through my degree I have been creating my own worlds where limitless possibilities can exist. Through my research I have established these limitless possibilities is the definition of 'the void'. My aim was firstly to understand what ‘the void’ is and what it means, with particular attention to how it is used within narrative. The methods I used to further my knowledge was through researching into the theory of 'the void' and also of 'the uncanny'. I then actively used this research to help me progress my ideas within a illustrated story, continuing on from my second year research project. This project was titled ‘Thee Voyage of the Stultifera Navis’ with a focus on the life of it’s captain Edward Magpie who wrote his diary about the adventure that he went on with crew to find enlightenment.
The key theorists I looked at was Bachelard's Poetics of Space (1994) to explore the void and Royle's The Uncanny: An Introduction (2003). The results and conclusion I made is that the void is limitless possibilities and can be used in a vast amount of ways within narrative. Through my artefact and the narrative I created, I believe I was able to fill the void.

Plan too

·      Edward Magpie has lost everything and getting old.

·      He still lives on St Nicholas Island but his wife and child have left to the mainland, Tim died of old age. (A void in his heart and body)

·      It’s a rainy day, Ted is looking out of the window thinking about his purpose in life.

·      Loriette Daze, Edward’s friend shows him a map of where The Stone Haven is.

·      He sets off to The Stone Haven, where people go to spend the last years of their life. There he goes to see the Isaacs sisters, giantesses who can see the past (Brown, long hair, shortest, with Lion), present (blonde, short hair, tallest, with spirit bear) and future (Red, semi long hair, with owl), able to read and interpret the void of time and what fills it.

·      They tell him of the 9 parallel plains above the one we live on. As you go up through the plains life becomes better and better until on the 9^th plain (the opposite of the 9 circles of hell) you learn the meaning of YOUR life (The ultimate personal void) – You can never find out THE meaning of life.

·      He gets the Navis’ crew back again – making sure of all the superstitions again.

The Void

Adjective

1. Law. having no legal force or effect; not legally binding or enforceable.

2. Useless; ineffectual; vain.

3. Devoid; destitute (usually followed by of ): a life void of meaning.

4. Without contents; empty.

5. Without an incumbent, as an office.

Noun

8. An empty space; emptiness: He disappeared into the void.

9. Something experienced as a loss or privation: His death left a great void in her life.

10. A gap or opening, as in a wall.

11. A vacancy; vacuum.

Verb (used with object)

12. To make ineffectual; invalidate; nullify: to void a check.

13. To empty; discharge; evacuate: to void excrement.

14. To clear or empty (often followed by of ): to void a chamber of occupants.

15. Archaic . to depart from; vacate.

The Poetics of Space - Gaston Bachelard

 

'Too much space smothers us much more than if there were not enough.' (Bachelard, 1994 p221)               The void - empty space, space to be filled, is space smothering

How can I use space in the layout of my text

Do I need to consider the way space effects emotions, I want the layout of my pages to be evocative of what is being talked about

If I have a section of text where Edward or another character feels smother could I use more space around the words

'Intimate space loses its clarity, while exterior space loses its void, void being the raw material of possibility of being. We are banished from the realm of possibility.'

(Bachelard, 1994 p218)

The void holds the possibilities of being, without the void there are no possibilities to be.

Is Edward banished from the realm of possibility? Where is his journey taking him? To the void? Away from the void?

If he is dead does the void exist?

As he goes up and discovered each plain which in itself is a void does it no longer exist as a void?

What is the void and how can it be explored as a concept in narrative? So through exploring the void through narrative I am filling the void with narrative

If the void is possibilities I am exploring one possible way of filling the void. By choosing one ‘possibility’ do all other possible ways of filling the void cease to exist?

Am I extinguishing the possibilities by choosing one

Narrative has to be linear, therefore certain possibilities are no longer viable. But strands of narrative could sill be explored creating new voids So by extinguishing one void countless new voids are made

If void = possibility then when void is filled/explored - through that unmeasurable new possibilities arise

'...that the daydreamer transports the dreamer outside the immediate world to a world that bears the mark of infinity.' (Bachelard, 1994 p183)

Is Edward moving outside of the immediate world into infinity (the plains)?

Possible start to story - Edward thinking/dreaming by himself beginning of his journey

Him becoming enlightened is in his mind, enlightenment is a spiritual/mental change therefore his is (^ quote) through his journey of enlightenment he is being transported outside the world/ to infinity

The plains themselves show him becoming more enlightened - as he is being physically transported through the plains his state of mind is also moving

Is Edward dying?

As he becomes enlightened he is dying - if you want to know the meaning of life you have to die.

'The world is large but in us it is deep as the sea' (Bachelard, 1994 p183)

The imagination - using the example of the depth of the sea - endless? So the world becomes endless

Physically the depth of the sea = infinity

The sea = imagination/infinity = endless possibilities = the void

Nautical tales links to the sea, links to ^

Once he sets sail from stonehaven, he is always on the sea whenever he is on the plain he is still on the sea.

Because of the links in the story to Edward and the sea he is....

Existing within a void, existing within enlightenment

Enlightenment is void

The void is not knowing the meaning of your life?

'As soon as we become motionless, we are elsewhere; we are dreaming in a world that is immense. Indeed, immensity is the movement of the motionless man.' (Bachelard, 1994 p184)

Immensity is the movement of the motionless man.

Immensity = infinite possibilities = void

Is Edward motionless - his moving through the plains is him dying so is he already dead therefore motionless?

As he’s going through the plains the physical movement means that his mind is growing.

A motionless man has infinite possibilities

A moving man would be taking the possibilities therefore the void is filled.

The void is the void?

Circular theory - balance

Simultaneous equations, to find out the unknown you use the constants (the things that are know)

 Bachelard, G (1994) The Poetics Of Space. Boston. Beacon Press.