This practice-based research offers new insight into femicide and the fetishisation of women, explored through visual and material culture, including fashion archives, photography and artists’ books. Whilst there is extensive research into feminism more broadly within art that historically focussed on a lack of representation of women artists, there remains a notable gap in scholarly inquiry into femicide, specifically the intersection of how women have been depicted within photography and crime literature. This research addresses this gap by critically examining the misogyny, misrepresentation and exploitation of women within visual and material culture. Existing narratives in crime media have historically centred around male perpetrators, with females predominantly being positioned as subservient victims. This continued representation upholds stereotypical tropes of women and reinforces objectification. This research challenges those portrayals, exploring paradigms regarding how women have traditionally been fetishised in crime popular culture and questions the long-term implications. It asks: How has femicide been traditionally represented in visual culture? How can the established tropes and stereotypes of women be subverted using practice-based research and can an empathetic and experiential practice-based methodology be used to challenge misogynistic perspectives? The methodological framework is grounded in practice-based research, exploring the archives, photography and the artist’s book, in order to challenge and subvert traditional narratives. Materials including crime scene photographs, newspaper clippings, true crime magazines and a seminal police code book were critically examined and recontextualised into a counter-archive Exquisite Corpse, comprising an artist’s book and archival collection of apparel, blurring boundaries between the found and fabricated. The interdisciplinary practice has been used as a place to recontextualise the usual discourse, challenging traditional views which glamorise the portrayal of women as picture-perfect victims. The outcome contributes new epistemological and ontological knowledge to the study of femicide, challenging long-established misogynistic ideology in visual and material crime culture, reclaiming the space for a paradigm shift. Developed by a woman, for women, about women, this practice-based archive both contributes to and lays the groundwork for future feminist inquiries, expanding the potential of artists’ books and the archive as a medium for critical discourse surrounding the fetishisation of femicide.
| Date of Award | 11 Jun 2026 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Yan Preston (Main Supervisor) & Liam Devlin (Co-Supervisor) |
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