ALEX MASCOLO

Dr. Alexandra Mascolo (she/her), an interdisciplinary researcher and analogue photographer based in Edinburgh, specialises in translating personal narratives, facilitating collective dialogues, and creating supportive spaces for ritualised practices and cathartic conversations can occur. Much of Alex’s work has centred on enhancing experiences related to death, dying, and bereavement through participatory and photographic art practices. Her Art by Practice PhD explored ways that food is used to connect with and commemorate the dead within the UK (awarded in 2025, University of Edinburgh).

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Alex’s research process involves an ongoing dialogue between theoretical and practical investigations, so that the techniques and research methods used are developed and adapted in response to research developments. Her work integrates theoretical understandings and methods primarily from the disciplines of contemporary art, anthropology, and photography, leaving space to incorporate supporting knowledge from additional disciplinary subjects where appropriate. Rather than methods dictating the outcome of a project, her interdisciplinary practice-based approach is driven by the research question, so that the creative process itself acts as a form of inquiry and a dynamic space in which research develops.

Participatory and photographic art practices are central to Alex's way of working. Participant involvement is not only an integral part of project development, informing research and generating data, but ongoing relationships with participants have meant that they have become consumers of and collaborators in subsequent practices and events developed. Whilst the immersive, repetitive and embodied nature of analogue photography and darkroom practice has allowed Alex to use image-making as a self-reflexive art process. With the camera being both a tool for mediation and meditation, it allows her to hone in on visual details and derive pleasure from the creative process itself. The photographic darkroom is an important site for experimentation, reflection and play within her work. ​'Not-knowing' in artistic practice brings flexibility to creative inquiry, Alex leans into this multifaceted modality, letting inspiration develop through mediums that feel resonant. In addition to photography, her art practice has also included installation, sound, projection, found objects, as well as the development and facilitation of participatory events, workshops and discussions.  

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