Dr Ricarda Vidal holds a PhD in Cultural Studies (London Consortium/ Birkbeck). Currently she is pursuing a practice-based research project into the wondrous world of translation within the fine arts and poetry, which explores intersemiotic translation as a creative and embodied practice. This links her academic career with her freelance activities as translator and curator. Besides public workshops and exhibitions, the project includes the publication of journal articles and books, such as Translating across Sensory and Linguistic Borders: Intersemiotic Journeys between Media (co-edited with Madeleine Campbell, Palgrave 2019) and Home on the Move: two Poems go on a Journey (co-edited with Manuela Perteghella, Parthian 2019, forthcoming). Further publications include the monograph Death and Desire in Car Crash Culture: A Century of Romantic Futurisms (Peter Lang, 2013) and The Power of Death (co-edited with Maria-José Blanco, Berghahn, 2014) and Alternative Worlds (co-edited with Ingo Cornils, Peter Lang 2014).
Theatre and Performance Publications
Translating across Sensory and Linguistic Borders: Intersemiotic Journeys between Media (2019) (includes chapters about intersemiotic translation in theatre, performance art, dance and community arts)
“Talking Transformations: Home on the Move” (ongoing since April 2017) www.talkingtransformations.eu
This project explores notions of home through intersemiotic and chain translation (5 languages and video art) via community workshops and an Arts-Council-funded travelling exhibition, which also included a public programme and collaborative poetry performances; workshops included exercises drawn from creative writing and performance art and participants were encouraged to explore choreographic and theatrical techniques. External partners include the Ledbury Poetry Festival, the Whitstable Biennale, the Poetry Library Southbank Centre, Tate Modern (via Tate Exchange) amongst others.
Symposium on Intersemiotic Translation: Words, Brush Strokes and Dancing Shoes (1st July 2016) http://translationgames.net/output/symposium-intersemiotic-translation/
This event brought together 18 academics, translators, curators, artists, dancers and theatre-makers who had explored intersemiotic translation in their practice to exchange ideas and discuss potential new collaborations. Some of these later contributed to the edited volume Translating across Sensory and Linguistic Borders. The symposium also laid the groundwork for the “Talking Transformations” project.
“Translation Games: What We Made” (May-August 2013)
This project brought together students from King’s and Queen Mary with artists and textile designers to explore how a single source text would be affected by being translated through a range of languages and media, including choreography and performance art. This culminated in an exhibition in the Old Anatomy Museum. Students also devised a series of performances to bring to life the different creative aspects of translation. (Translation Games is still on-going but recent activities have been less concerned with performance practices. However, this may change in future.)