Abstract

In this paper, I will reflect on “23.16”, a research project that delves into autobiographical memory, technology, and installation art, developed during the Master’s in Fine Arts at FBAUP. This investigation intersects with the conference’s focus on the arts and memory. Anchoring my methodology in autoethnography, I manipulate personal materials—sound and memory—employing a strategy of transfer and iteration within a network of devices. This creates a mise-en-abîme that bridges various artistic languages and forms. The work embodies a living inquiry into Judith Butler’s narrative of self as articulated in “Giving an Account of Oneself,” scrutinizing the iterative process of self-narrative and the persistent metamorphosis of identity. The project is further informed by Paul B. Preciado’s reflections on the imbrication of technology and identity, alongside Gilbert Simondon’s notions of transduction and perpetual becoming. The philosophical paradox of Theseus’ ship serves as a conceptual metaphor within my work, posing inquiries about identity’s endurance and transformation. This metaphor extends to challenge the identity of the project itself, questioning whether it retains the essence of a singular work despite the continuous substitution of auditory and visual forms. The project materializes in multimedia installations that, emanating from the same auditory roots, conjure seemingly dystopian versions of reality and memory. The installations are a testament to the performative nature of memory and the cinematic transformation of sound into image, and subsequently, into moving images. In dialogue, I aim to reflect on the generative possibilities of this experimental process—how the critical discourse may contribute to the research’s evolution.