DECONSTRUCTING CONSCIOUSNESS IN CONTEMPORARY HYPERREALITY: THE MULTIPHRENIC SELF AND IDENTITY by JOHANNA CHRISTINA MARIA SWART Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTERS IN VISUAL ARTS at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: MS. I Naude September 2018 DECLARATION Name: Johanna Christina Maria Swart Student number: 8841144 Degree: Masters in Visual Arts Deconstructing consciousness in contemporary hyperreality: The multiphrenic self and identity I declare that the above dissertation is my own work and that all sources that I have used or quoted have been indicated and acknowledged by means of complete references. Sent electronically 17/09/2018 ------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------- SIGNATURE DATE i ABSTRACT This study is a practice-led research that visually examines how the sense of self and identity are experienced within the complexity and multiplicity of selves in a technologically saturated culture. This dissertation, “Deconstructing consciousness in contemporary hyperreality: The multiphrenic self and identity”, is the theoretical component of this research which underpins and discusses the visual works that comprise of three multimedia installations that focus on images of the fractured self, the re-imagining of faces behind facial recognition programmes, and the embodiment of space and aesthetic significance within re-appropriation of images within social media platforms. The practical component falls within multi-media art often associated with video art and installation art within contemporary art. By recognising postmodern identity theories, this study investigates the postmodern subject’s concept of self and identity formation within a world that is influenced by the constant glare of technology and viral1 media exposure. How the development and proliferation of technology in the contemporary world, shapes one’s sense of self and identity. The fragmented postmodern subject exists within this context of “viral media” that describes the endless parasitism and dominance of media, where information is perpetuated as part of representation. Due to the perpetual state of virtual re-invention of the “self” within this realm, a digital footprint of identity and traces of personal information are available to others publicly and globally. This context generates a fractured postmodern self that globally exists within a perpetual sense of the present. This research visually and theoretically reflects on the concepts of postmodern schizophrenia and the multiphrenic self, in relation to identity and how participation on social media platforms can enhance a feeling of fragmented self. To address the main argument, it is the contention of the research to deliberate that identity formation is continually and compulsively shaped and reshaped through adapting to specific social environments. The study further argues that the multitude of digital networks (and the 1 The media specialists Henry Jenkins, Ford and Green (2013:17) explained the use of the word “viral” within media as that the: “term ‘viral’ first appeared in science fiction stories, describing (generally bad) ideas that spread like germs”. Jenkins et.al (2013:17) further explain that “viral media” is “a term whose popularity has been fuelled by the rapid rise of social network sites alongside declining adverts rates and extremely fragmented audience for broadcast media”. ii everyday practices occurring within and between them) form a different kind of platform and space that affects identity formation. List of key terms: Self, identity, multiplicity, multiphrenia, postmodern schizophrenia, selfie, anti-face, media, technology, refraction, projection, reflection, simulacrum, hyperreality, Facebook, performance identity, rhizome. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research and exhibition are dedicated to my husband Frans and children Anmari, Phillru and Frans-Hendrik for your endless and loving support during this incredible process and journey. To my friend, Hanolet Uys, for your academic and practical support and for being part of this process with me one day at a time. To my supervisor, Dr Irene Naude, for your in-depth academic knowledge and assistance, and for moulding the thesis with me into a final product. You continuously encouraged me as a student not to give up. To my father, Hendrik du Plessis, for motivating me to further my studies and setting an example to strive for. To Lefra Productions for your technical support with my art exhibition. To UNISA and the City of Ekurhuleni for affording me the necessary bursaries to complete my studies. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ......................................................................................................... i ABSTRACT .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... ii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.1 Introduction to study .................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 1.2 Background to the study .............................................................................................................. 7 1.3 Problem Statement .................................................................................................................... 11 1.4 Aims and objectives of the study ............................................................................................... 11 1.5 Theoretical approach of the study ............................................................................................. 13 1.6 Review of literature and visual sources ..................................................................................... 13 1.6.1 Literature Sources ................................................................................................................... 13 1.6.2 Practical research and sources ............................................................................................... 15 1.7 Outline of chapters ..................................................................................................................... 18 CHAPTER TWO: PRESENCE OF ALICE – DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE ............. 19 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 19 2.1.1 Postmoderm schizophrenia……………...................................................................….......... .19 2.1.2 Contemporary Art Discourse………………………………………………………………………..21 2.1.3 Visual Componenent………………………… ……………………………………………….. …..22 2.1.4 Identity Performance………………………………………………………………………………...24 2.1.5 Idenity Formation ……………………………………………………………………………………26 2.2 Rhizome, hyperreality and “self”……………………………………………………………………..32 2.2.1 The Selfie ………………………………………………………………………………………........35 2.3 Multiphrenia................................................................................................................................ 39 2.3.1 Refraction………………………………………………………………………………………........ 41 2.3.2 Perpetual present and movement………………………………………………………………….46 2.4 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………...46 CHAPTER THREE: THE MAD HATTER TEA PARTY ................................. ……. 48 3.1 Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………..48 3.1 The "self" and mirror………………………………………………………………………………… 48 3.3 The body and virtual reality……………………………………………………………………………52 3.4 Perceptions of space and time................................................................................................... 56 3.4.1 Performance in time …………………………………………………………………………………59 3.4.2 Reflected space and time ........................................................................................................ 61 3.4.3 Intersubjectivity: Reflections and mirroring ……………………………………………….……....64 3.4.4 Embodiment within virtuality .................................................................................................... 69 3.5 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………… 71 v CHAPTER FOUR: THE ANTI-FACE FACE.............................................................73 4.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 73 4.2 The "self”, masks and identity………………………………………………………………………...73 4.3 The face in the culture of technological………………………………………………………………75 4.4 The Anti-face…………………………………………………………………………………………... 75 4.5 Identity formation……………………………………………………………………………………….79 4.6 Face and Mask within Cyberspace…………………………………………………………………..81 4.6.1 Cyberspace as projection ........................................................................................................ 81 4.6.2 The "self" in everyday life versus the online "self"………………………………………………..82 4.6.3 Presence of Alice: The Anti-Face as a window into hyperreality ……………………………….83 4.6.4 Window into virtual reality…………………………………………………………………………...85 4.6.5 Metaphor of the mask ............................................................................................................. 86 4.6.6 Becoming and the mask .......................................................................................................... 94 4.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................