Grace Kingston: Transcendent Flesh – Sequential Selves

My thesis is predicated on the limits of flesh and the exploration of its synthetic extensions. I am to mirror the process of body modification and sexual exploration – cumulative bursts of energy to complete a narrative of experience. This concept has been explored in two ways; my studio work is based around a collection of mixed media works revolving around latex, rubber and inorganic material used as a metaphor for the artificial body. Whereas my thesis paper is based around the medium of Twitter: this stems from the idea that one’s online persona(s) is an extension of the identity one embodies in person and is therefore a new form of costume.

Twitter is a social networking concept consisting of short status updates that seek to answer the question “What are you doing right now?” there is a limit of `140 characters for each Tweet, which approximates around 25 English words. The name of this online project comes from Marques De Sade’s ‘120 Days of Sodom’, in which a story is told each day by the story teller to inspire the content of the libertine’s orgy that night. Similarly I have started each ‘session’ of tweets with a quote to inspire the content of the discussion. The tweets become a collection of aphorisms, sensory descriptions and personal reflections by a fictionalized online persona. This online persona was developed through research into personal accounts of people aiming to push the limits of their flesh

“[P]ain is not an argument against life, but, on the contrary, a stimulant to life, ‘a bait for life’, an argument in it’s favour” – Deleuze

I posted this paper through free online avenues, so I have not only made it more accessible than a physical essay but similar to the spirit many Fluxis artworks were made in, as I have posted a set of instructions and have actively opened up a chance for interaction, a dialogue between myself and the reader through the opportunity to comment.