Practice Based Research

Justin’s  practice based research at Norwich University College of the Arts explores aspects of digital culture, identity, consciousness, and inter-personal communication and behaviour, involving hybrid media outputs that combine various forms of animation, composited elements and live action filming.  This builds on his professional expertise in special effects production.

Justin’s research is particularly focused on examining and experimenting with non-narrative approaches to generating drama structures that dispense with the conventions of plot, and the unities of place and time, in order to illuminate aspects of the human condition. A strand within his research involves data mining of sociological content from the internet as a source of raw material to manipulate and reflect on culture. 

Justin is increasingly concerned with exploring and representing non-conventional, liminal states of being, in which sonic or visual elements or characters are presented as ambiguous, or in a permanent threshold state in-between other states.  Justin’s intent in researching and utilising hybrid media techniques in his work is to expand on the established vocabulary of  linear and spacial visual expression, in order to enhance viewer perception. 

Justin’s research outputs have been exhibited internationally, for example at the Black Maria Film Festival (2006) and the Eleventh International Conference on Science and Consciousness (2008).  He previously received the financial support of the British Council and Fuji Film Company in Hong Kong in 1990.