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Rachel Clemett, postgraduate researcher in the Department of Music, reflects on her research as the winner of the Research Journey 2025 photography competition.
Research can often feel like a solitary pursuit. Long hours spent in quiet rooms surrounded by notes, books, and half-formed ideas. My project explores the role of sound design and music in shaping representations of disability in film and television, with a particular focus on chronic illness and invisible disabilities. I spend much of my time thinking about how sound can express what isn’t seen — the inner worlds of fatigue, pain, and resilience.
One cold, rainy afternoon, deep in analysis, I had an unexpected visitor: a very wet pigeon. It landed by my window, bedraggled and shivering, and I couldn’t help but take it in. As it warmed and dried, I realised how this small interruption mirrored my research — a reminder that even the unseen, the overlooked, can suddenly make itself heard. In that moment, the quiet solitude of research felt unexpectedly alive.
Images of Research 2025 - Researcher Hub - University of Liverpool
You can also view Rachel’s mixed-textile sculpture, titled ‘Binary’, which won the Showcase Your Research 2025 competition in the Victoria Gallery Museum Lightbulb Moment exhibition.