Doing things in space: the exchange of ideas and methods between contemporary geography and site-specific performance

Historically, conceptual threads within art and geography have shared an interest in spatial philosophy dating back to the 1950s and the work of Henri Lefebvre and the Situationist International. The thesis traces the influences between thinkers in the socio-spatial sciences and artists to illustrate that the exchange of ideas between them has been of benefit to both disciplines, yet actual collaborations are rare. In the last decade or so in geography, the work of artists has been used as an object of study. Over the same period, geographical theory has begun to grapple with the problem of non-representational aspects of place experience, yet this has primarily been without any empirical work to support its theoretical insights. Using qualitative approaches, this thesis examines the ways in which site-specific performance can provide research methodologies relevant to geographers interested in non-representational theory (NRT). The thesis does this by analysing the ways that artists conceive site-specific work and interpreting the ways such work is received, drawing conclusions about the applicability of the approaches used and the results obtained in relation to NRT. Spatial theory provides artists with practical models for creative spatial practices, and explanations of their own position on the socio-political map. Performance practices can provide geography with methods of teaching, research and presentation that take account of the body and affect, empower all participants, and effect change in the community. Contemporary performance brings together political impulses of radical geography and non-representational theory