Calum Eccleston

This practice-led research emerges from a deeply personal exploration of Alastair MacLennan’s “die to self” principle, which involves self-transcendence through ego dissolution and the confrontation of existential notions of death – both literal and symbolic – through endurance and surrender. Engaging with MacLennan’s archive, held at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design (DJCAD), University of Dundee, has involved navigating the unseen, liminal space between life and death, self and other, and presence and absence. The enquiry explores how this intentional self-death functions as a transformative act, challenging concepts of ego, agency, and personal continuity, and emphasises that MacLennan’s practice fosters renewal through relinquishment rather than preservation.

As this research unfolds, it aspires to serve as a guide – an interpretive lens constructed through practice – that navigates the complexities of MacLennan’s “die to self” principle, encouraging, as he does, ongoing dialogue and discovery for those who seek to understand and continue his pioneering engagement with the limits of the self in art.

Names of Supervisors: Judit Bodor (University of Dundee), Maria Fusco (University of Dundee), Roddy Hunter (Glasgow School of Art)