Liminality and ontological materiality : an investigation of a dualistic christian grand narrative, governing human relationship with the natural world
Date
2017-03
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis is an investigation of the historical influence of Christianity on the grand
narratives governing the human relationship with the natural world. It examines the role that
certain central Christian metaphors have played in the moral conditioning of humans and
especially the way in which particular Biblical texts have been constructed as a fantasy of
mastering and escaping the natural world. The result is a problematic dualistic narrative that
posits nature primarily as a flawed, temporary home from which escape is necessary, in
direct contrast to an eternal spiritual afterlife which offers perfection and salvation.
Humankind’s utimate dependence on the natural is denied, resulting in further alienation
from nature.
Reductive and violent Biblical binary oppositions, become a trigger for my visual art and
intuitive prosesses, through which I visually express a personal concern, engaging and
challenging these largely uncontested monolythic narratives. I employ the postmodern
concept of ontological materiality to emphasize and confront a deep rooted epistemological
discrimination against the natural world. In my art installations, I use the idea of liminality,
where the viewer is confronted with coplex emotional experiences, which hopefully serve to
evoke perceptual change.
My thesis is not an iconoclastic attack on Christianity, but a neccecary investigation of its
enduring influence on contemporary, secular grand narratives, like science, capitalism and
politics. It is a humble attempt to contribute towards a new narrative and to provoke
alternative views regarding the natural world.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Raadpleeg teks vir opsomming
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Raadpleeg teks vir opsomming
Description
Thesis MA(VA)--Stellenbosch University, 2017.
Keywords
Liminality, Secular grand narratives, Christianity and art, Humanity and nature, UCTD