SUBJECTIVITY/ LIGHT/ CELLULOID/ AFFINITY

Abstract

This thesis is written concurrently to an ongoing studio-art practice that aims to understand the relationships between technology, digital space, and subjective identity by examining notions of body, individualism, and change through an auto-biographical lens. While the evolution of digital space within the last few decades has been essential to creation of community, it has also functioned as a key element of colonialism, capitalism, and overall systemic oppression. This paper seeks to explore the nuances of this type of space and the possibilities of functioning outside of the system that seeks to individualize and oppress in an inevitable digital future. These ideas of “identity” that concern how this space functions are abstract and widespread: to continue this conversation this paper aims to delve into concepts of subjective identity and ultimately, ideas of affinity between individuals.