Róisín
Spencer
About
Mutant Exotic is a body of work comprised of six screen-prints and a video piece that celebrates sexuality yet is dichotomously inspired by the concept of Hauntology. Hauntology’s inception as a philosophical concept was first conceived in the writings of Jacques Derrida where he elucidates elements of the past as haunting the present through reconfigurations of dead ideas and figures. Mark Fisher most recently ascribed the term to interrogate the cyclical nature of our capitalist nostalgia. Through evoking elements of this concept, I hope to interrogate some of the earliest examples in the 20th century of the female form as commodity and ask whether we have been able to move beyond the body as product in contemporary society.
Fisher connotes that society is stuck in a formal nostalgia which has kept us trapped in the 20th century. This is seen through the incessant haunting of past fashion, products, art and music which has ultimately led to the incapacity to cultivate anything new under capitalism. The vibrant colours generated by the video synth proselytises alluring marketing tactics employed to entice consumers. The appropriation and distortion of the archival erotica omits a beautiful yet ominous essence as these bodies perform in esoteric states of decay amidst an array of lively colours.
Bio
Just a chick having some fun with a CRT TV, a video synthesizer and some inks.
Over the duration of my studies at Sydney College of the Arts, I have focused my practice on the areas of Print Media and Screen Arts, often merging the two mediums to create dynamic and immersive experiences for viewers to engage with. I have been digitising and deteriorating archival footage and imagery of erotica from the early 20th century to create a video piece and series of six large screen prints.