The Ungh, knowledge through emotional, sensorial and spatial forms of bodily being

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Volume Title

School of Arts, Design and Architecture | Master's thesis
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Date

2022

Department

Major/Subject

Mcode

Degree programme

Valokuvataiteen maisteriohjelma

Language

en

Pages

77 + 35

Series

Abstract

The thesis The Ungh is a poetic and theoretical exploration of the intricacies contained within bodily experiences. Considering the interplay between emotional, sensorial and spatial perception in the forming of bodily space. Ungh is a self-invented word or sound that refers to a state of overlapping emotional and sensorial experiences into one unfixable moment. The thesis is formed of two parts: an artistic response and a theoretical discussion. Part One is a collection of four artistic works that address the notion of The Ungh through an experimentation of images and sound. The work was shared in the form of an exhibition titled Ways of Knowing and includes: a silent film installation displayed across six screens, a photographic collage, a multi-panel risograph montage and short piece of writing in the form of spoken sound. The work seeks to address embodied forms of visuality, considering how the overlapping nature of matter is connected through affective forces. Part Two is a theoretical discussion of the multitude of ways in which knowledge can be formed through bodily ways of being. Crossing philosophy, poetics, science and cultural theory, this section weaves together eclectic arguments that acknowledge the fluid, embedded and of the world nature of bodily relations. Beginning with history of Affect theory to provide a contextual framework, the thesis crosses personal and theoretical discussions of the way energetic forces are woven into our bodies and experiences, acknowledging the linguistic limitations associated with such topics. The following section addresses the material quality of spoken sound through ideas of fluidity and felt meaning, turning to the mouth as a site of bodily relation and the possibilities of the voice as a material to carry emotionality and feeling. The final chapter focuses on the sensation of touch and the skins surface as a site of knowledge, examining haptic visuality and other cross-sensory modes of perception.

Description

Supervisor

Pälviranta, Harri

Thesis advisor

Mustonen, Maarit

Keywords

embodiment, materiality, affect, photography, film, touch

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