In this paper, I consider "the encounter" (O'Sullivan, 2006) and conceptualizations of subjectivity and identity proposed by post qualitative scholars (Jackson & Mazzei, 2012; Lather & St. Pierre, 2013; Lenz Taguchi, 2012; MacLure, 2013; St. Pierre, 2010) and contemporary art theory (O'Sullivan, 2006; 2012) to attend to the potentialities for visual arts-based research to provoke rather than represent thought. Traditional narrative inquiry is critiqued as affirming representational thought while the methodological implications of duration will be explored as a psychical site for new thought creation. I draw on my encounter with Canadian artist, Yam Lau's film/CG animation, "Room" (2004) and the works of Deleuze and Guattari to critique the narrative form and persistent humanist notions of subjectivity in qualitative research. I argue for the potentiality of the encounter in creating conditions for an affective disruption to perceptions and suggest future implications for arts-based educational research and pedagogy with secondary teacher candidates.