Download the thesis - South Eastern Centre Against Sexual Assault

e because it can be difficult, using words, to articulate what is an essentially visceral
response to art. It may also be because these other disciplines have developed
language that now has widespread currency for discussing these human experiences,
whereas the arts in this context is only just developing one. The purpose of this study
is to examine creative practice as another option available to victims of trauma and not
to compare art-making with therapy. I aim to contribute to the discussion a deeper
understanding of the benefits of creative practice and to a language to help describe it.
The question posed by my thesis is thus not whether art-making contributes to
wellbeing, but rather how, what and why, and critically, what roles do artists take in
this. What is happening in the creative process and engagement that makes art so
profound? What is the connection between the art project and the artist that enables
momentous creative spaces to open and personal transformations to occur? The
project participants’ and my work presented and explored here are an examination and
a dreaming. The thesis is a reflection upon what has been, as well as an ambition for
what might be possible if art were to be more broadly offered in trauma and grief
work. It is, as Freud has said, both love and work. 3
3 According to Elms (90) and his interpretation of others’ texts (Masson 1985) and
Erikson (1963) for example, there is no account of this popular quote in any of Freud’s
writings. It is believed to have been Freud’s verbal response to a question asked of
him about what is necessary for a happy life.
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