Hack the system gently : incorporeal, subversive ways of reconstructing body narratives through artistic practices

Abstract

The aim of this research is to reveal and enumerate the characteristics of possible artistic (pedagogical) practices aimed at disrupting capitalist (pharmacopornographic) body narratives, and to explore what could work as counterresponses to stereotypes. The research is based on two processes: the body narrativity workshop series Archive B., which happened between September and November 2020; and the online exhibition creation, My Eye Candy, My Somatic Fiction and My Body Archive, which premiered in December 2020. This study is the analysis and description of the main factors of an artistic pedagogical methodology, focusing on the reconstruction of body narratives through material practices. I also present an artistic process relying on the findings of the workshop’s artistic and pedagogical tools.

My main research questions are: (I) how could the workshop Archive B. function as a method to deconstruct and reconstruct personal/political body narratives? (Ia) What kind of pedagogy is needed for this deconstruction/reconstruction? And (II) what type of artistic process and outcome could be created following the method of Archive B.? In other words: what type of pedagogical and artistic practices could this method rely on? In my art-based action research in Archive B. and the artistic research in My Eye Candy… I examined the characteristics and function of a material, sonic, sensorial-based method of recreating body narratives. After Elisabeth Grosz’s (reference) term the incorporeal, I named this method incorporeal body poetics.

Based on the written and verbal reflection of the participants, I came to discover the following artistic pedagogical tools. (1) Purposeless playing, playing together, and the joy of experimenting with different haptic, visual and sonic materials are their core elements. (2) Caring facilitation, unconditional hospitality, the possibility of refusal and the caring presence of the facilitator form an important part of the pedagogy of incorporeal body poetics. The artistic creation of incorporeal body poetics is challenging power structures, sharing the responsibility and giving the participants the possibility to create outside of their “profession.” A (3) caring community, co-performative witnessing and intimacy have key roles in both processes. Incorporeal body poetics’ key element and main subversive factor is relating to each participant as the expert of their body.