Becomings: Rhizome methodologies and the body-in-process

Abstract

Drawing on research in biology and neuroscience by scientists such as Antonio Damasio, and informed by the theoretical investigations of philosophers such as Gilles Deleuze and feminist theorist Rosi Braidotti, we discuss the different possibilities that contemporary arts practice offers for performing, representing, thinking about and revealing the body. In this paper the intersections of research on the body which occurs across the arts, sciences and humanities are focused through two practice-based research projects: Textiled Becomings - a living fibre work by Haya Cohen; and The Absence of Alice, a multi-medium bio-art installation. Developed with a strong emphasis on processes of both making and becoming in and of the world, these works function as an exploration of the body as an active embodied and embedded agent. In our discussion, emphasis is placed on the intersections and divergences between research interests to illustrate the ways in which the body-in-process can be manifested through practice. In addition, we outline how a practice-based rhizomatic approach to research that interweaves creative practice with diverse theoretical inputs including philosophy, cultural studies, art theory and biological science presents an effective and reflexive way of engaging with the complex issues surrounding the body as social, cultural and biological entity.