I have an MA (European Civilization) and an MPhil (Slavonic Languages) from the University of Glasgow and in 2010 I completed a PhD (Film Studies) at the University of St. Andrews.
After a couple of years as a post-doc research associate at the University of Central Lancashire, I started my position at the University of Skövde. In 2023, I was promote to Reader in Media Arts, Aesthetics and Narration. As part of this position, I teach on a range of course within game development and I am a course convener on Dramaturgy, Worldbuilding and Academic writing. I also supervise and examine thesis dissertation on both graduate and postgraduate levels.
My research focuses on the theory of moving images, which includes computer games. My approach is analytical and historical, examining both the visual representation and the industry that produces the images.
My primary research interest has to a large extend been on Russian and Eastern European cinemas, where I have published on films from Russia, Polen, Estonia, Latvia and Albania and, more broadly, on the condition of postcommunism as reflected in cinema. In this regard, I am associate editor of the journal Studies in Eastern European Cinema and I have given numerous conference papers and organized panels on this topic.
Issues of ideology is also an important aspect of my research. This has led me to develop a research interest in computer games, since game studies places a greater emphasis on technology – on platform, mechanics and computer performance – than more traditional media does. My interest is on the ideology of games as conditioned on the interaction with the game machine. Marxist theory can be useful in this regard to unpick the technological interaction between game and gamer.
I am the co-founder of PlayLab in Skövde, which is a hightech blackbox where we experiment with games, game technology and performance art. Currently, we are working with various cultural institutions in the region to prototyp interactive technologies of the performing arts. These include Skövde Art Museum, Riksteatern Väst, Folkteatern in Gothenburg and the Gothenburg Opera.
Moreover, I am also working together with two contemporary artists, Olle Essvik and Lina Persson, in order to develop appropriated experimental platforms for cross-disciplinary work at the intersection of art and technology.
KinoKultura
2024. Article, book review.
Studies in Eastern European Cinema
2023. Article, editorial.
https://doi.org/10.1080/2040350X.2023.2149122
KinoKultura
2023. Article, book review.
Studies in Eastern European Cinema
2023. Article, editorial. https://doi.org/10.1080/2040350X.2022.2159161
Reset: Politicia e Videogiochi
2023. Chapter in book.
KinoKultura
2022. Article.
KinoKultura
2022. Article.
KinoKultura
2022. Article, review.
2021. Artistic output. Mixed material.
KinoKultura
2021. Article, book review.
Future Media Theaters brings together partners from industry, academia, and the cultural sector in Sweden, the UK, Hungary, Austria, Belgium, and the US who are all working together to investigate and create new forms of performance using interactive technologies.
September 2021 - August 2022 Informatics