Expanding the framework of rhetorical circulation: an approach to online symbolic accretion through the rhizomorph

Abstract

ABSTRACT On October 18, 2019, members of the Colombian Army covered a highly visible mural with white paint. The mural depicted the Army’s active and retired generals who are allegedly responsible for extrajudicial executions committed by their subordinates in the 2000s. The Army’s efforts failed; in attempting to make the mural invisible, the Army ensured the mural’s visibility through online circulation. In this article, I describe the rhizomatic emergence of the image in the digital space through different forms and articulations as a challenge to the Army’s intention to screen out a narrative in the physical landscape. I argue that the circulation of the image and its transformations into remixes and other visual representations constitutes an instance of online symbolic accretion. I propose the theoretical concept of rhizomorph, understood as a digital image event that transforms as it moves through a digitally mediated environment to provide an alternative conception of a particular event.