Posthuman Body and Visuality: Local and Virtual Interface in New Media Art

Abstract

The term “posthuman” is used to characterise ways of existence brought about by hypothetical improvements to human nature brought about by technical and applied scientific advancements. It also denotes the decentering of human uniqueness and the triumph of humanistic ideas. The posthuman condition is an opportunity to restore the balance between humans and nonhumans, advance horizontal ontologies, expand the boundaries of ethics, and extend rational mastery, surmounting humanity’s biological limitations. Hypervisuality of the images situates the body as an instrument and a site for the local, global and virtual interplays of online global audiences and offline located/situated producers and consumers. This paper will study the concept of the posthuman body and visuality in the context of current art practices. It will analyse the shift new media brings in the concept of body from painting, and sculpture to the new media artworks.