Formal confusion: virtuality and utopian space : an exegesis presented with exhibition as fulfillment of the requirements for thesis, Master of Fine Arts at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

This exegesis details an investigation into the history and evolution of certain technologies, (binary coding, Platonic cosmology, and the linear perspective system) and the extent to which these technologies have distorted or appropriated our perceptions of reality. Special attention is paid to logical inconsistencies in apparently logical systems. The investigation focuses on the purportedly utopian applications of these technologies and the discrepancies that inevitably occurred whenever these ordered systems confronted the chaotic ‘real’ world. Information gleaned from this research then informs an analysis of methods for incorporating these concepts into the author’s installation practice. An explication of recent drawing practice and its reconciliation with installation work will account for and inform a recounting of practical experimentation dealing with form and materials.