Spaces for interpretation: story telling in autobiographical fiction and visual art

There is an innate human drive to share stories of self. In this thesis, I explore the idea of creating autobiographical fiction through written and visual art forms. A key challenge is how to tell a story based on a life event without disrespecting actual people or distorting recollected events. I begin by considering the concept of autobiography, the nature of memory, its close relationship to fiction, and the relationship between these, identity, and storytelling. I discuss the possibility of a more complete understanding of the story being told when an author also employs an alternative narrative form. Using myself as a subject, I engage in a form of autoethnography to create fictional short stories that have an autobiographical thread. Each story is accompanied by a work of visual art as further narration of the same story. I conclude by suggesting that using the two narrative forms of written and visual art provides an individual with the opportunity for an alternative perspective, which allows for a more clear understanding of self and position in the world. --Leaf ii.