https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/63057 Tue, 14 Jul 2026 19:16:09 GMT 2026-07-14T19:16:09Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/84948 Title: Half-dreaming phantomwise : exploring visual (re)presentations of the Quixotic ‘melancholy farewell’ moment in ‘Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There’ Abstract: Via practical application, this research explores the possibility of adapting Lewis Carroll’s “melancholy farewell” moment in a multimedia fine art context. It is a search for possibilities in extracting an arts-based methodology from the metaphoric-metonymic trope of metamorphosis applied within the specific text to create a series of contemporary visual artworks. In this episode, from Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There (1871), the legacy of Don Quixote not only appears signicant in its destabilizing, satirical narrative style but emphasized in the heroic personification of the White Knight whose perpetual farewell haunts multiple dimensions. The purpose of this thesis is to create visual representations of these Quixotic dimensions by enquiring into seemingly disparate discourses such as error, nuclear calamity, virtual reality, and interspecific hybridity. This dissertation is concerned with making and, also, with considerations of artistic precedents and sources, the drawing of analogies with other disciplines and media. It engages, analyzes, and discusses various aspects of flux, transformations, and transcendence in this Alice fragment influenced by a framework of theoretically informed readings. It investigates the implications and consequences of such questioning and the way in which identity is constructed through vision and perception on structuring concepts such as humanity (as opposed to non-human sentient beings), language, faith, time, space, the precariousness of childhood, and the rules of logic. A Quixotic endeavour per se, the path of this cross-media exploration weaves a thread from engagements with these related themes in contemporary literature and art, back to the first known visual representations found in cave art. Description: PH.D.DIGITAL ARTS Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/84948 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/63746 Title: Echoing David Hockney : a sequential narrative that focuses on the study of relationships within double portraiture Abstract: This project has been created to study the intimate stories David Hockney portrays in his works of art surrounding the themes of double portraiture and relationships. This research specifically targets the artwork “Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)” (Hockney, 1972). The themes of duality, double portraiture in the history of art, sociological aspects behind relationships and David Hockney as an artist were analysed in order to obtain a thorough insight to fuel the final product: a sequential narrative. This dissertation explored sociological theories, such as John Bowlby's Attachment theory (1966, 1988) and Leon Festinger’s Cognitive Dissonance theory (1957), in order to understand the story behind Hockney’s paintings. The data-collection method was qualitative, as in-depth interviews were held with couples in order to obtain a deeper understanding of their relationships. The subject matter of the final sequential narrative was determined by this data, which led to the writing of the script. The fictional story explores an abstract world and direct interaction with the artist. The dissertation itself explores the ability to communicate Hockney’s art, through digital illustrations that encapsulate his techniques and the various aspects he has embodied through the doubleportraiture aspect, of his career. The final illustrations were determined by the script, which was the base for the finalised graphic novel and was exhibited online along with a mini-documentary video showcasing the process. Description: B.FINE ARTS DIG.ARTS Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/63746 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/63745 Title: Anthropomorphism in character design Abstract: Anthropomorphism has been practiced since the beginning of human history. It has been done to great lengths to non-human entities such as animals and even inanimate objects. Even though animals are the subject to anthropomorphism in a lot of media, this phenomenon explores the humanity much more than it does examine the animals subject to this experience. Apart from the technical studies of the processes used to design characters within this context, alongside of examples of artists doing so, it is important to step back from the practice itself and ask questions. What determined your design decisions? What is the message, and what can be interpreted from it? Why is this specific audience attracted to this design, and by extension, this artwork? It is for this reason that this study is not necessarily just a study of character design and the attribution of human traits on animals, but a gateway to study the human condition. Description: B.FINE ARTS DIG.ARTS Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/63745 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/63743 Title: Beyond the surface an investigation into the narrative aspects of tattoos Abstract: Tattooing, a category of body modification, is a popular artistic form of both aesthetic value and self-expression. This dissertation focuses on unravelling the narrative behind tattoos and understanding their relationship to self-identification by means of in-depth research and data collection. A qualitative study, together with primary observation, were carried out in order to obtain personal opinions and narratives pertaining to chosen individuals. The final project reflects and incorporates the obtained results through an interactive installation consisting of four wooden structures that encase stretched linen fabric. Each frame contains three illustrations, one visible and two others which are initially hidden. Once made visible with the back LED lighting, the two hidden images are juxtaposed on the canvas to show a personal interpretation, a recreation of the original tattoo and the true meaning behind it. This approach looks to create a physical artistic representation of this dissertation's findings while also visualising each individual’s hidden narrative. It encourages the audience to look past their own formed opinions while grasping the notion that tattoos hold deeper motives beyond aesthetics or trends in contemporary society. Description: B.FINE ARTS DIG.ARTS Wed, 01 Jan 2020 00:00:00 GMT https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/63743 2020-01-01T00:00:00Z