The post-human is merely dawning into less of a theory, and transforming into a more “norm” way of life. Post-humanism isn’t so much a thing of science fiction anymore, it’s a creative fictional boundary, that ‘us’ as the human race want to embrace, and perfect. It goes against our natural instinct of curiosity not to try and take it further, to push boundaries and to make the impossible possible. But we’ve only conquered the ‘small’ steps.

Semester 1 third year starting September 2019.

Contemporary Art Practice BA Hons. 

Post-humanism is based on the notion that humankind can transcend the limitations of the physical human form and body. In a traditional sense, humans have been considered to be indisputably classified as high functioning animals.

Post-human is a concept originating from science fiction, futurology, contemporary art and philosophy that literally means a person or entity that exists in a state beyond human.

S1 2019

Project One; 

Changing the human body; the Post-human aesthetic.

For the start of this theme, it was really difficult to narrow down ideas, as post-humanism is so broad. There are many different definitions, which I later on made reference to. I really struggled to grasp this project.

In the end I projected my feelings towards the entire project in my finals basically feeling trapped in my work. 

But... This fuelled my ideas, and opened up new paths to creating art, my feelings of frustration are very human, so I began to deconstruct the idea of humanism, looking into Cyborgs, Cyborg-feminism, AI, and so much more. My feelings of feeling insignificant as a basic human mind ended up being so helpful.  

S2 2020

Project Two;

The Post-human in the Anthropocene :
Post-human approach of the human and environment.

I was drawn to the theory of post-humanism as it threaded into everyday life, through environment, behaviours, society, image and is heavily indulged in art. Post-humanism is so varied it can be taken on in multiple forms, such as described by Cary Wolfe in her approach to theories of post-humanism and cultural rhetorics which discusses the scale of gender, race power, in her “Fourfold Disciplinarity”, this also relates to some of Braidotti and Haraway’s, theories when working with gender in post-humanism delving off into feminist culture, and the reinvention of nature, which she debates in her book “Simians, Cyborgs and Women”.

I continued this project into second semester however the project overview changed, and developed. Instead of using artificial mediums, I was give inspiration to use real bodily fluids such as blood, urine, saliva, hair, teeth, milk, bacteria etc. 

For semester two, I had to create two outcomes, my first outcome was video, where I combined bodily fluids. 

Outcome two was homemade petri dishes and independently grown bacteria. Due to the risks involved with cultivating unknown bacteria especially during a pandemic, all of the bodily fluids and bacteria was disposed of correctly and safely. I had to get in touch a disposal team who collect medical waste and incinerate it. 

Below are some of the images I cultivated 12 dishes in total. 

  

I strive to delve into the theory of Post-humanism, taking it apart and reconstruct this futurist idea. I aim to explain how we combine technology and the human body, and how I’ve made Post-humanism take over my studio practise. How we have already become a starter pack generation for its aesthetic consumption, how we pine for perfection.

Within my studio practise, I concluded many ideas, from so many concepts, getting lost in the complex world of the body. Using findings from books, and from lectures, I was able to narrow down and find the reoccurring theme of Post-humanism, looking at ethical issues, and biases. Genealogy and editing human genetics to create a version of the human that is perceived as perfect.