Links and comments showing how I’ve met the Unit 1 learning outcomes.
Learning Outcome 1:
Formulate, describe and implement a challenging and self-directed programme of study, relating to your Study Statement.
My study statement sets out the aim, objectives, methodology, outcomes and work plan for this MA. It describes the ThoughtCounter project: participatory experiences that make investigating thought widely accessible, enabling people to discover what lies beyond the senses and opening a doorway to deeper inquiry.
- Study Statement: What’s beyond the senses
- The self as a construct: Common themes between neuroscience and yogic philosophy – where the thinking behind the study statement began
The concept developed through a process of questioning, testing and refinement. The starting point was my interest in perceptual phenomena and consciousness, which gradually focused into a specific and testable investigation.
- What am I actually making work about? Reviewing my interests – clarifying what the practice is actually about
- Counting thoughts – the original ThoughtCounter concept
- Beyond thoughts: What else can’t be sensed? – expanding the framework to the five aggregates
The programme of study is challenging in several ways: it requires building a functioning website, testing with real participants, developing a physical installation, and situating the work within both contemplative philosophy and contemporary art practice – all within the 60-week MA timeline.
- ThoughtCounter website brief & project scope – scoping the project vision and technical development
- Plan to creating a prototype – mapping the practical steps
Learning Outcome 2:
Implement appropriate working methods for building an independent and effective self-organisation that enables the critical engagement with practice-based research.
My working method combines daily meditation practice as primary research, studio experimentation, participant testing, regular tutorials, external conversations with artists and researchers, and consistent documentation through this blog.
Studio experiments and material testing:
- Exploring moiré effects with layered acetate prints – first material experiments
- Quick tests: Mark-making, moiré cones, and colour – trying different things to identify which directions were worth pursuing
- Developing the work: Tunnels, voids and material experiments – pushing the work
- Moiré effect tests with film photography backgrounds – testing the work in different contexts
Participant testing and iteration:
- ThoughtCounter: First test – first real-world test of the concept
- Testing round 2: Noticing patterns – identifying patterns across multiple participants
- How to get 200+ people to participate in a research project – researching participation strategies
Critical engagement:
- When the data doesn’t exist: A research pivot – questioning and reframing the core concept
- What actually matters – questioning whether the product framing was burying the core experience
- Leaning into ambiguity – sitting with unresolved tensions in the work
- Refining ThoughtCounter’s UX – reviewing design decisions against study statement goals
External conversations and tutorials:
- Exploring movement, depth, and disruption in moiré work – tutorial with Jonathan that opened new directions
- Tutorial with Jonathan Kearney – 02 Feb 2026 – discussion on framing and user experience
- Meeting with Mark Farid – 12 Feb 2026 – questioning whether ThoughtCounter can create meaningful change
Site visits and exhibitions as research:
- Visiting Matrimandir: A 1970s vision of consciousness architecture – research visit
- Gallery visits: Unexpected inspiration for moiré experiments – Saatchi and Photographers Gallery
- Ryoji Ikeda at 180 Studios – immersive installation research
Learning Outcome 3:
Communicate a critical understanding of your developing practice.
Looking back through the blog, my practice has moved through several phases – each one building on and questioning the last.
Phase 1: Material exploration (Oct – Nov 2025)
It began with my interest in perceptual phenomena – specifically moiré patterns and how layered geometric forms could alter perception. This was primarily material and visual research, with reference to kinetic artists including Carlos Cruz-Diez and Jesús Rafael Soto.
- Kinetic artists that engineer perception: Carlos Cruz-Diez
- Exploring moiré effects with layered acetate prints
Phase 2: Conceptual pivot (Nov 2025)
The practice shifted when the question moved from “what does perception look like?” to “what lies beyond perception?” The ThoughtCounter idea came about as a direct investigation into thought itself – using participatory experience rather than passive observation.
- Counting thoughts – the moment the core idea arrived
- Artists who have explored similar territory – positioning the work in relation to existing art practice
Phase 3: Framework and depth (Dec 2025 – Jan 2026)
The concept deepened through engagement with the five aggregates framework from Buddhist philosophy and primary research at Matrimandir in India.
Phase 4: Development and refinement (Feb 2026)
Now the study statement is written and the website is being built, the question is ensuring the design truly addresses the project objectives.
- Study Statement: What’s beyond the senses
- Meeting with Mark Farid – questioning whether ThoughtCounter can create meaningful change
- Refining ThoughtCounter’s UX
- Rethinking the Visual Design