UM, ER it’s not what you do it’s the way that you do it

Abstract

This research project is about human communication interpersonal face to face encounters chats of a sort dialogue of a kind It’s about what we say and what we don’t It’s about ways we say it and ways we don’t say it gaps pauses silences ii hesitations little moments when - very - little -might - have - been said gestures feelings At the centre of the research is an image of someone about to talk. They shuffle a bit, look down and scratch left wrist and forearm with right hand. Look up to the right, brief smile, look down again. Straighten left arm and pull up sleeve with right hand. Look up to speak. Stall. Look down. Left hand over back of right hand. Left hand squeezes right hand. Pause. Turn body slightly sideways, look up, speak. This practice-based project considers the relationship between empathy and an awareness of non-verbal aspects of human communication – the tiny gaps, pauses, hesitations and physical gestures. It seeks to explore and address the principal question of how sensitivity to the nonverbal and to the value of hesitation, drawn from my experience as a medical general practitioner, has a role to play in initiating, directing and lending definition to a fine art practice that involves participation, text, video and performance. The research is distinguished by the way in which it considers the potential of bringing approaches from clinical medical care into the field of fine art making in order to illuminate understanding of how hesitation, gesture and the non-verbal, contribute to empathetic human communication. The manner in which the project was developed and way the thesis has been written, reflects its subject and reappraises the perceived ‘failure’ of hesitation. This is supported and informed by my reading of Georges Perec’s ‘meta discursive reflections.’ 1 1 Michael Sheringham, "Georges Perec: Uncovering the Infra-Ordinary," in Everyday Life : Theories and Practices from Surrealism to the Present, ed. Michael Sheringham (Oxford ; New York: Oxford University Press, 2006)., 262.