From anxiety to curiosity -The individuation process seen through the lenses of costume design in the artistic project 'Leap Beyond'

Abstract

This thesis is a documentation of my personal journey as a costume designer. It examines how one could enter a new collaborative project and find ways toward self-exploration both on a personal and an artistic level. In this thesis, self-exploration is examined as individuation through the Jungian understanding, referring to the process of self-actualization by gaining a better awareness of one’s true self. In this thesis, the major archetypes of the individuation process (Persona, Shadow, Animus/Anima, and the Self) are compared to the different stages and interpersonal relationships one can experience during a devising process of theatre-making, specifically, from the perspective of the costume designer. The goal of this thesis is to analyse and reflect on the anxieties and hardships that challenge a costume designer in a devising process. This presents an opportunity to gain a new perspective towards these hardships and find meaning in them.

This thesis utilizes practice-led research, reflecting on the lived experiences and learning processes that lead to an artistic and personal growth. This includes autoethnographic writing, a methodology that employs self-reflective practice. To ground this experience theoretically, the study explores Jungian analytical psychology and cognitive studies about dress and costume. I analyse the presented designs and Jungian archetypes in the performance, and the unconscious processes that one can observe during and after the production in an attempt of meaning-making and self-discovery. Research in psychology is also aligned with the artists’ medium, costume. It is a tool that can serve the costume designers’ understanding in character analysis.

The performance that served as a case study for this thesis is the artistic collaborative project Leap Beyond that was presented at the Theatre Academy, University of the Arts Helsinki in collaboration with Aalto University, in March 2020. The performance explored the topics of anxiety, curiosity, and flying through the means of physical theatre, aerial dance, and participatory theatre. It was directed by three directors in collaboration with 16 performers.

The main finding that is articulated in this thesis is the importance of self-discovery as a means towards better group dynamics and healthy collaboration. By processing and articulating emotions that occur during the learning curve of a devising process, we can gain insights into our inner workings that structure our design work and interpersonal relationships in the context of professional collaboration. This thesis also discusses underlying thoughts of anxieties, self-doubt, and raises questions about mental health in the context of theatre-making.