To be eaten: the constitution of the Transsexual Woman through patriarchal structures
(2024)
author(s): Síofra Augustein
published in: Royal Academy of Art, The Hague
[SCHOOL] Thesis of the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague 2023
[DEPARTMENT] BA Fine Arts
This paper delves into a deep exploration of the intersectionality of gender, sexuality, and identity of the transsexual woman, through a deeply personal narrative of self-reflection and critical inquiry. It confronts the societal constructs and power dynamics that shape the experiences of transgender women, particularly focusing on the themes of consumption, agency, and abjection within patriarchal structures. Drawing inspiration from the reflections of prominent transgender theorists and activists like Julia Serrano, Hunter Schafer and Susan Stryker, I navigate through the complexities of transitioning and self-discovery, weaving together philosophical insights with lived experiences. The paper investigates the constitutive nature of language and discourse in the formation of subjectivity, emphasizing the traumatic yet empowering effects of interpellation and performativity. Furthermore, it examines the abjectification of transgender bodies within societal norms and the dichotomy of desire and shame inherent in the construction of feminine identity. By engaging with concepts of transgression and phenomenology, the paper challenges traditional notions of gender and sexuality, offering a nuanced understanding of transgender embodiment as both a site of resistance and reclamation. Through intimate diary notes and theoretical discourse, I invite readers to confront the complexities of transgender existence and the transformative power of self-affirmation amidst societal erasure and increasing marginalization through out the western world. Ultimately, this paper seeks to foster dialogue and understanding surrounding transgender female experiences, advocating for a deeper understanding of the becoming and the constitution of becoming a woman, the sexual and social consequences and I hope the reader discovers parallels to their own existence and the sexualisation and constitution of it oneself.
HONEYMOON IN POMPEII - work in progress
(2021)
author(s): Sven Vinge
published in: International Center for Knowledge in the Arts (Denmark)
“HONEYMOON IN POMPEII – work-in-progress” is an artistic research project conducted at the National Film School of Denmark. In it, I explore transmediality through the production of a prototype artwork spanning film, literary text, sculpture, and virtual reality all loosely inspired by the archeological technique used to cast the Pompeian victims of the Vesuvius eruption in 79 ad.
I describe my initial inspiration and how I changed my intentions of exploring a consistent storyworld to more abstract associations and themes and the different collaborative efforts in producing the four parts of the prototype (a test not meant for public exhibition). The prototype ended up consisting of:
1) A film representing a foot specialist helping a costumer try running shoes in a sports store but showing an obsessive interest in her feet and crossing her personal boundaries.
2) A literary text consisting of selected passages of Wilhelm Jensen’s short novel “Gradiva” (1902) translated to Danish in which we meet the young archeologist Norbert Hanold and notice his obsession with an ancient bas-relief portraying a young woman walking.
3) A sculpture consisting of four transparent plastic reliefs depicting a walking woman (copies of the bas-relief described in the novel) suspended in a 1x2x2 meter aluminum frame.
4) An erotic virtual reality experience in which the perceiver’s bodily movements affects the virtual world. When moving, the represented scene freezes and vice versa.
We conducted a test of the joint transmedia artwork with a small group of respondents who answered a questionnaire reflecting on their experience. I reflect on the respondent’s answers and propose further questions and themes that may be interesting to explore through artistic research: How does one explore transmediality not necessarily in relation to a consistent storyworld but also relying on abstract characteristics? What are the limits (if any) between mixed media art, transmedia art, and installation art? How can transmediality be explored as either a goal in itself or as a development tool for artists working with particular media in mind? Could it be beneficial to explore transmediality through the metaphor of archeology and how?