Maja Hill

My research interest focuses on current debates in identity and approaches to history. The working title of my PhD project is Changing Identities and Histories: Fragmented Memories of Yugoslavia through practice-based research.  In May 2024 I exhibited version of the works in the Testing Space Arch 04 run by the a-space in Southampton. Exhibiting in a gallery space has allowed me to refine and develop the works based on the experience and the audience feedback I collected.  

I am using phenomenological method in combination with library and archival research. I took several field trips, taking sound recordings and interviews. I have kept a travel journal. Traveling and visiting museums along the way opens a view into the rift between the different interpretations of the same historical moments. 

The topic is connected to a long-standing interest in the role of memory and memory-works in the construction of identity. This was explored through the participatory piece Memory Weave in 2016 developed with Ana Cozendey, Onion Skin drawings and video in 2017 and sculptures Mothers exhibited as part of the Procreate Project at the Women´s Art Library Goldsmiths. My PhD topic is focused on the fluidity of identity and the performative aspect of memory-works in the construction of national/group identities. I am developing an installation that blends immersive technologies - sensor triggered media, found objects and traditional techniques of drawing/painting. I am very interested in integrating the mixture of these media within fine art. My own PhD practise-based research project utilises a range of these media.