Approaching nakedness and its problematics : a 1-1 (one with one) performance about being naked in an intimate platonic way
Pysyvä osoite
Verkkojulkaisu
Tiivistelmä
Nakedness can mean not wearing any clothes but it could also mean not having your socks on. I see nakedness as a social construct that can shift meanings depending on the context, the culture and the subject(s) being or not being naked. In Approaching Nakedness and Its Problematics I use personal experiences I had in Europe and Thailand, the words Naked, Nude and Τίτσιρος (:Titsiros), borrow ideas from Donna Haraway, the trans philosopher Talia Mae Bettcher, and the indigenous scholar Irene Watson to introduce the multiplicity of nakedness.
I present some of the problematics of nakedness such as objectification, male gaze, exhibitionism and voyeurism, toxic masculinity, gender binaries, and normalized body images. Afterward, I present queer and feminist theories of Judith Butler, Diane Ponterotto, and Talia Mae Bettcher on how to resist those problematics. I then contextualize my work in relation to other artists, their work and the mentioned problematics. I continue with my artistic project A Bathing Performance, a 1-1(one with one) happening of nakedness and care, presenting my methodology, my aims, my reflections and observation.
In the project, I limit the spectrum of nakedness and focus on nakedness as an intimate, platonic act. Additionally, I introduce the term one with one and explore performance as a meeting, a mutual, interconnected exchange with another person. I approach both nakedness and the performance as a multiplicity, a range of options and choices that one can decide how, when and where he/she/they want to experience nakedness.
The written part of my thesis includes an academic text and a handwritten book: a replica of the scorebook I used in the performances in June 2017 which includes the updated version of my 30 bathing scores/proposals.