Research Supervisor Connect
Jane researches innovative, social and environmental approaches to sustainable contemporary creative practices to discover their shared value across the community through international industry and community collaborations. Her practice is at the nexus of material culture, material science and our environment.
Associate Professor Jane Gavan.
Research interests
Jane’s research operates on parallel trajectories, one outward looking and community focused, the other individual and studio practice based. The outward trajectory focuses on understanding the interrelationship between designers and artists and their engagement with environment, industry and other communities. Jane explores these realms by embedding herself and leading teams of others within these communities.
This situated community focused practice enables Jane to explore her studio based enquiry, often resulting in hand made one off design or art works or installations, that develop new or deeper understandings of materials and processes in contexts that include design, art, and product innovation. One example is her recent work, Underwater Fernweh, 2021 which embodies currents of our consuming desire to be somewhere far away, somewhere unfamiliar during long covid lockdowns. In the work, found blown glasses are assembled and enriched undersea motifs, beads, and gold leaf. This paper weight work uses minimal material and energy to imagine the marine ecologies of the Laguna di Venezia and Sydney Harbour.
Her work is informed by Practice, Material and Object theories, with particular synergies around the often pragmatic philosophical approaches of Latour, Schon, Joas and Reckwitz. Gavan maintains an active engagement with the realms of Environmental, Organisational, Material Science and Material Culture studies and the Social History of Technology with a particular interest in how these disciplines intersect with design and art practice.
1. If you are interested in this research opportunity, you are encouraged to email the potential supervisor directly. To find their email address, follow the link provided to their profile page.
When contacting them, you should describe your academic educational background and research experience and include an academic transcript and CV (resume). You should also include a research proposal (1500-2000 words); refer to How to write a research proposal for guidance. You should explain why you want to undertake a PhD and how you believe your research topic aligns with the supervisor’s own research. You may be asked to supply a sample of written work.
2. Your potential supervisor may offer you advice on developing your research proposal before you submit your application. You will need to provide a written statement from your potential supervisor that they have agreed to supervise your project.
3. If you would like general advice in your subject area before submitting an application, contact an academic advisor listed here.
The opportunity ID for this research opportunity is 3307