Articulating the interstitial : interpretive responses in digital art practice

The research investigates definitions and representations of the interstitial through digital art practice and through critical reflection and discussion in an accompanying textual dissertation. It began with a series of photographic light paintings which I argue via metaphorical mappings, are representations and definitions of the interstitial (or what Duchamp termed the infra-slim) in terms of moments, forms and spaces. Practice-based study then aimed to create new audiovisual interpretative responses that articulate the interstitial based on these definitions. The investigation through practice encompassed a combination of two distinct approaches towards the creation of form, each with its own aesthetic. Firstly the use of generative systems and algorithms that allow for unforeseen visual outcomes, resulting in a more organic aesthetic; and secondly, direct manipulation of form through 3D modelling and montage techniques, leading to pre-defined visual outcomes that demonstrate an aesthetic that is more synthetic in nature. Over the course of the study, both approaches were employed to create a series of motion-based audiovisual artworks that explored and negotiated tensions between these seemingly conflicting visual aesthetics in response to the source images. In doing so, a dialogue between these distinctive aesthetics unfolded, and a new interstitial aesthetic emerged.