Nineteenth International Conference on the Arts in Society

Abstract

How can affects unfolding through art help people transform their states of subjectivity? Human lives nowadays intertwine with a complicated political, economical and sociocultural background. These impacts penetrate into lives and embody daily affections. It is crucial to see how one can possess these affections and find a way to adapt to different situations. As Braidotti’s theory of “nomadic subject” may serve as a solution for people to keep reforming their subjectivity at their will, this paper explores how arts can stimulate perception and affection, thereby engaging people in practicing their nomadic subjectivity. There are two goals situated in this study: the first is to reappraise posthuman theories that pertain to affects, percepts and subjectivity to construct a landscape of lived network; the second is to discuss how art can impact the meaning-making process with affects and its potential for rehearsing different positioning of subjectivity. This paper also presents a part of an interactive exhibition in Taiwan. The case is used to consider how its materiality engages people to unfold their affects and reflect on their lives. Using this case, the paper discusses how art has the potential for subjects to reflect on their states and undergo the process of becoming, which facilitates subject nomadism and makes people experience it in a reparative and mindful way.