On Trauma

This chapter explores literary, art historical, philosophical and psychological discourses on trauma, and offers a conceptual framework for a major theme in this book. The focus is primarily on representations and/or evocations of trauma in the visual arts, the role of sense-memory, and the challenges faced by artists and curators when dealing with difficult, violent and catastrophic events. Reflections drawn from the work of diverse writers and theorists contextualises these issues in relation to perspectives on affect and embodied cognition introduced in Chapter 2, suggesting some methodologies for creative practice.