Lament of the Cyclops

In this thesis, I explore historical shifts in body imaging and effects on our sense of self and interconnection. The body exists has become a mediating 'object' to read and interpret, but interpretations are affected by representations from media produced by and about bodies. A feedback loop exists between body images, especially medical images for this discussion, and the information coded into our understanding of others.

In the Digital Age, this feedback loop has become diffuse, fractured, and disembodied. Image culture has become omnipresent and powerful, and we must be aware of its effect on us in order to relieve existential angst and unhealthy body relationships. My video installation, Lament of the Cyclops, evokes this anxiety we feel from our current mode of body understanding.

This thesis cannot address every aspect of this complicated subject, but I include a number of theoretical backgrounds and examples to explore certain pertinent issues.