User:Michel W/Draft project proposal

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⭑What do you want to make?

I want to create a series of cyborg-inspired objects and build a new world rooted in reality that allows for imagining broader possibilities. This work will integrate concepts from cyberfeminism and queer theory, exploring my personal connection with these ideas. As someone who identifies as a non-binary queer individual, I’m passionate about advocating for these themes in Taiwan and supporting the community. From my perspective, these topics still feel marginalized in Taiwan, and I hope to raise awareness and attention through public events. Ultimately, I aspire to create a diverse and compassionate world.

In this world, there are no clear boundaries between humans and nature, machines, materials, and animals. The inspiration comes from "Cyborg Manifesto" by Donna Haraway. Utopian tradition of imagining a world without gender, which is perhaps a world without genesis, but maybe also a world without end. The term "cyborg" is a blend of "cybernetics" and "organism," meaning a semi-mechanical organism. We are all chimeras, hybrids of machines and organisms that are theorized and manufactured; in short, we are all cyborgs. The cyborg is our ontology; it gives us politics. Cyborgs are "born" incomplete, ironic, and full of contradictions, unable to embody any inherent identity. Haraway uses this to create a "plural" rather than "humanistic" utopia. For cyborgs, the construction and deconstruction of boundaries become a daily experience, rather than a pursuit of a totalizing theory.

This series will include an interactive fashion dress or an art installation. The dress may feature interactive elements, such as sensors embedded in the fabric that connect to software, projecting visuals onto a white wall. To create an immersive experience, the project will also include a 30-minute live performance, inviting the audience to contemplate the following questions: 'Modern queer and gender spectrums have already broken down the traditional binary concept of gender; could there be even more possibilities? Do we still need these or similar myths and metaphors?' All materials used will prioritize environmental sustainability. Ultimately, the various objects will come together as a cohesive whole, encouraging the audience to engage with and explore these questions.

⭑How do you plan to make it?

On one hand, I will continue reading and researching more books and articles related to cyberfeminism and queer theory, to explore these topics in greater depth. I want to discover how to blend Taiwan and queer aesthetics with cyberfeminism to create the cyborg and the world I envision.

I hope for more opportunities to connect and learn with the community. In addition to attending exhibitions and events to meet like-minded peers and explore collaboration opportunities, I might organize a workshop on clothing modification and mending. This would invite people to open dialogues as they mend clothes, fostering exchange. To me, the process of repairing clothes is similar to a healing and regenerative ritual, a close bond between you and the fabric in your hands. I feel that self-healing and regeneration are essential; they acknowledge vulnerability and imperfection while embodying resilience and strength—qualities that resonate with the cyborg concept.

Practically, I will create an interactive garment, mainly using second-hand materials to form a hybrid, regenerative aesthetic. Building on this, I also plan to make wearable or displayable metal objects, such as jewelry or installations. For the garment's interactive elements, I will experiment with connecting Arduino to Touch Designer to project different visual outputs, such as images, text, sounds, and videos. The focus will primarily be on visual elements, so I will collaborate with an artist for sound.

In relation to my thesis, I want to examine the connections between cyberfeminism, the cyborg concept and aesthetic, and Taiwan/Asian queer communities. The cyborg’s focus on non-binary opposition, the ambiguity of identity and boundaries, and the way queer/non-binary individuals, like cyborgs, liberate gender by transcending binaries—actively embracing a future of diversity, heterogeneity, and hybrid identities—is central to this. I also plan to publish a Chinese version of my thesis, with the goal of organizing exhibitions, events, and workshops in Taiwan to connect with the local community.

⭑Timetable

September ~ November

⊹ Go to different exhibitions, meet new likeminded peers. Search for inspirations. Read.

⊹ Thinking about the possibilities. Discuss the experiences and perspectives with Lien about the queer community in Taiwan.

⊹ Write the project proposal and thesis outline that can help my research.

⊹ Make prototypes with TouchDesigner and experiment with visual outputs for the public event.

December ~ February

⊹ Sketch the dress and search for material for it. Make prototypes.

⊹ Make the metal objects.

⊹ Make prototypes with TouchDesigner.

⊹ Write the Thesis and continuing the research.

⊹ Organize the repair workshop in the communities.

March ~ April

⊹ Arduino + Touch designer prototype.

⊹ Thesis deadline.

⊹ Discuss the collaborations with sound artist and performance artist for the grad show.

⊹ Perhaps another public moment for testing. Trying to reach out to the Asian audiences in Rotterdam.

May ~ June

⊹ Finish the dress and metal object.

⊹ Do the styling and art director for the final pieces, shooting with a photographer.

⊹ Prepare the grad show. There will be a live performance for 30 mins.

⊹ Installation and dismantle.

Future plan

⊹⊹ I am planning to showcase my graduation project to the Taiwanese audiences in Taipei. Perhaps this year or the next, also I will provide the Chinese version of my research and thesis.

⭑Why do you want to make it?

I have always been deeply interested in topics such as feminism, queer theory, gender fluidity, and so on. Researching these issues has given me a deeper understanding of my own self and gender identity. As someone who identifies as a non-binary queer person, I want to raise awareness of these issues that matter to me, especially for people in Taiwan. I feel that there is still a lot of space in Taiwan to discuss and share these marginalized topics.

I want to construct a future based on reality that allows for imagining more possibilities. In this envisioned cyborg world, people live in a society and bodily reality where they are unafraid of forming kinship with animals and machines, unafraid of partial identities, or of contradictory positions. This reminds me of the recent advancements in technology, such as AI, and the massive impact of the COVID-19 virus on the world. Our heavy reliance on technology has indeed transformed us into what Haraway describes as "chimeras."

In The Cyborg Manifesto, it’s mentioned that the "sex" of cyborgs revives some of the interesting, nontraditional reproductive methods of ferns and invertebrates. I find this fascinating; cyborgs do not rely on reproductive politics but rather focus on "regeneration"—a process of healing trauma and reconstructing the self. For me, self-healing and regeneration are very important. They acknowledge vulnerability and imperfection while embodying resilience and strength. The Cyborg Manifesto has opened a door to cyberfeminism, and I am interested in exploring cyberfeminism within an Asian context. Modern queer and gender spectrums have already broken down the traditional binary concept of gender; could there be even more possibilities? Do we still need this or similar myths and metaphors?

Moreover, I am very eager to combine physical and virtual mediums in my creative work. Fashion has always been a way for me to express myself, and now I hope to explore new possibilities and self-expression by integrating different media.

⭑Who can help you and how?

⊹ XPUB Tutors: Giving feedbacks for my concepts, Prototyping problem solving.

⊹ XPUB peers: Discussing projects deeply together.

⊹ Nam Wang: Helping me with the Arduino and Touch Designer and giving technical support.

⊹ Metal Station teachers: Giving me technical support with making metal objects.

⊹ Fabric Station teachers: Giving me advice for garment making.

⊹ Lena Chen: Sound artist. There's a possibility to collaborating for the sound outputs.

⊹ Yizon Chen: Jewellery goldsmith/artist who could help me with making handcrafted pieces.

⊹ Tzu Ching Lien: Organizer of Queer crew Nectar 瓊漿玉液 in Taipei.

⭑Relation to previous practice

The concept of hybridity emphasizes that all things have a spirit, a union of humans and gods, and an intimacy with nature. My previous projects, like cyborgs, have liberated gender, broken free from binary-centered oppositions, and actively embraced a future of diversity, heterogeneity, and mixed identities.

I also focus on creating visuals that challenge conventional aesthetic standards, opposing mainstream aesthetics. For me, beauty has no single standard or form, just as gender can be fluid, hybrid, and spectrum-like. Perhaps I have been gradually creating the cyborg of my imagination through my past works.

⭑Relation to a larger context

Raise awareness of queerness, sharing and discussing with the communities. The reason I choose these topics is because they are parts of my everyday life. I want to explore the connection between cyberfeminism, the concept and aesthetics of cyborgs, and Taiwan/Asian queer communities. Within the cyborg concept, there’s a focus on non-binary opposition and the ambiguity of identity and boundaries. Queer/non-binary individuals, like cyborgs, liberate gender, break free from binary-centered opposition, and actively embrace a future of diversity, heterogeneity, and hybrid identities.

⭑References/bibliography

Haraway, D. (1985). A cyborg manifesto. Victoria, British Columbia: Camas Books.

Repositorium für die Geschlechterforschung The Cyborg, its Manifesto and their relevance today: Some reflections. (n.d.). doi:https://doi.org/10.25595/115.

Seu, M. (2023). Cyberfeminism Index. Inventory Press.

顧燕翎, 劉毓秀, 王瑞香, 林津如, 范情, 張小虹, 黃淑玲, 莊子秀, 鄭至慧, 鄭美里 (2020). 女性主義理論與流變（完整修訂版）. 貓頭鷹出版社.

⭑Rapid Prototype

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