Surface Tension: An Exploration of the Ontological Instability of the Screen

Abstract

Although screens are commonplace in our cultural habits, our homes and our hands, they remain largely unseen. The dominance of digital images has given rise to the ubiquitous screen as a carrier of radiant images. In response to the proliferation of contemporary screens, this research posits a new interpretation of the screen as a spectral entity that occupies a liminal zone between the image, the medium and the viewer. While the primary research outputs are situated in the gallery environment, the research also considers the sociological and philosophical positioning of the screen, particularly through the agency of technology. Using the established method of practice as research, this investigation uses video installation to explore the ontological instability of the screen. It positions the origin of the contemporary screen pre-cinema and argues that the screen is an independent entity worthy of interrogation outside of existing pictorial, film and new media theoretical discourses. The generated outcomes understand the screen as a product of the fluid interaction between the image, the object and the viewer, and considers its broader relationship to time and space. By presenting a vitalist proposition that screens are a mutable species, this research contributes new knowledge to the emerging field of screen ontology.