Breaking the Boundaries of “Self”: Representations of Spatial Indeterminacy

ABSTRACT

Bodily notions of the self, that is, the body as an existential form which occupies space, are reconsidered here in alternative ways that might be considered “transgressive.” The representations of various contemporary artists suggest ways in which we break out of the barriers of our bodies, extending beyond the enclosure of skin. So, too, do recent and contemporary philosophers, who offer alternatives to spatial modes of thinking, in which metaphysical comprehension and produced space help us shift our allegiance to fixity and closure. In fact, these models of identity, as contained within contour lines or set names, suggest that the concept of “self” as a spatially “contained” enclosure is perhaps too limiting. With implications for architecture, and changing modes of spatial practices, this discussion moves toward an emerging aesthetic of indeterminacy. This term, “indeterminacy,” as applied here refers to that which is purposively blended, combined, porous, and multiply layered; it is applied to bodies as we creatively imagine the self that extends beyond the containment of our skins. By extension, this focus on “presencing” with blurred edges, so to speak, on porous models that merge body with that which is “not-body,” leads us to the promotion of this particular aesthetic.

Keywords:

• aesthetics of indeterminacy
• bodily transgression
• breaking boundaries
• spatial porosity
• multiplicity
• representational space
• art and philosophy

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mary Modeen

Mary Modeen, artist and academic, lectures at the University of Dundee. She teaches Fine Art and Interdisciplinary Studies, founded and directs the MFA in Art and Humanities, and supervises Ph.D. candidates in interdisciplinary practice-led studies. Her own research has several threads: perception as a cognitive and interpretive process, and place-based research, which connects cultural values, history and embodied experience. As such, this work usually combines creative art with printmaking practice at its core, and writing. Currently, she coconvenes three research groups, Mapping Spectral Traces, Land2, and PLaCE International (UK), the last of which is an international research consortium.