Endo-exo : the oppressive violence and perverse reclamation within sadomasochism, invertebrates, and cyborgs : an exegesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the postgraduate degree of Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

My MFA project, entitled Endo-Exo, examines how Western institutions have continuously imposed oppressive values onto minorities in various ways, and proposes, within a fine art context, how we can manipulate and reclaim them. By exploring different contexts of bigotry that have long been part of mainstream culture, I connect to my own experiences and position as part of a multifaceted minority, to highlight how personal traumas can arise from the ongoing systemic issues perpetuated by Western media. By using references from popular culture, I aim to expose aspects of the subtextual and illicit propagandising and acts of violent bigotry that continue to plague our everyday lives. By drawing upon imaginative symbolism, punk subculture, and relevant examples drawn from academic theory, I will analyse how these topics can be deconstructed and recontextualised through a marginalised lens to foster empowerment. Additionally, I will reflect upon artists of similar creative fields, those who identify as women, queer (sexually and gender-diverse), neurodivergent, and/or the chronically ill. As an interdisciplinary artist, I incorporate sculpture, drawing, photography, and installation within my work. My practice involves ongoing creation, aspiring to reach a place where feelings are processed and internalised hatred is not regarded as personal fault but as a recognised consequence of suppression, even within the context of a relatively isolated country like Aotearoa, New Zealand (as I equally identify as both tangata whenua and tangata tiriti). At the conclusion of this exegesis, I urge you, reader, to acknowledge the space minorities need to thrive within contemporary art practice, as well as to recognise the continued importance of anti-authoritarian positions in the arts—specifically in light of the current rise of fascism and its impact on the Globalised political environment.