User:Michel W/Draft project proposal
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⭑What do you want to make?
I want to create a series of objects related to cyborgs and build a new world that integrates the concepts of cyberfeminism and queer theory, exploreing my relationship with these theories.
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. This series may include an interactive fashion dress or an art installation, with a live performance. The materials used for creation will be based on environmental sustainability. Ultimately, these various objects will be pieced together into one cohesive whole, inviting the audience to interact with and explore these topics together.
⭑How do you plan to make it?
On one hand, I will continue reading and researching more books and articles related to cyberfeminism, queer theory, to explore these topics in greater depth. I also plan to participate in exhibitions and gatherings on these topics to meet more like-minded peers and seek collaboration opportunities. I hope to have more opportunities for exchange and mutual learning.
On the other hand, I need to experiment with Touch Designer to create different visual outputs, such as images, text, sound, video, etc. This part will eventually be integrated with the dress. Additionally, I need to create a dress, primarily through modifying and transforming second-hand clothes, to develop a hybrid aesthetic.
⭑Timetable
September
⊹Go to different exhibitions, meet new likeminded peers. Search for inspirations. Read!
October ~ December
⊹ Make the project proposal and draft rapid prototypes that can help my research. Test on Touch designer + Arduino. Keep reading!
⊹ Experience different materials and thinking about the possibilities. Discuss the experiences and perspectives with Lien about the queer community in Taiwan.
January ~ March
⊹ Sketch the dress and search for material for it. Make prototypes. Problem solving.
⊹ Discuss the collaborations with sound artist and performance artist for the grad show.
April ~ June
⊹Prepare for all the works.
⊹Do the styling and art director for the final dress shooting with a photographer.
⊹Prepare the grad show. Perhaps there will be a live performance for 30 mins.
⭑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. It 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.
⊹ 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.
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.