Posthuman Body in the Context of Biopower Concept in Contemporary Art

Posthumanism criticizes the dualistic approach of humanist thought that instrumentalizes the body; and with this criticism, it shares a common ground with Foucault's concept of biopower. This study aims to investigate the critical posthuman body possibilities at the intersections of Michel Foucault's understanding of the body in the context of power technologies and Donna Haraway's concept of cyborg. This study is a qualitative theory-led research and falls within the scope of the conceptual framework determined by the concepts of the above-mentioned two theorists. Prominent body-related data were collected through literature review and evaluated by the document analysis method and interpreted with a diagram. The findings were Actions on the body and Actions of the body. Through these findings, contemporary artworks were evaluated with the descriptive analysis method, and patterns that emerged depending on the common and different aspects of the works were discussed by diagramming. Four new main concepts that stretch and reshape boundaries of the study’s conceptual framework were obtained as the findings regarding the posthuman body. In conclusion, the study determined that posthuman body is not a singular body; but a plural, multiple posthuman bodies-practices that oscillate between the reality and fiction areas of the cyborg through biopoliticization. Thus, two artworks produced by the author of the study are proposed for the possibilities in relation to its determination of posthuman bodies, aiming to make a contribution to the literature more than just its findings

Biopower · Posthuman · Posthumanism · Bioethics and Human Rights Issues · Posthumanist Ethics and Activism · Science Education and Perceptions

• Manifestly Haraway

  Donna Haraway, Donna J Haraway et al.•Manifestly Haraway•2016

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