Shergill, Ramandeep;
(2024)
Visions of a Critical Posthuman Practice: Embodying Exoskeletal Living Systems (ELS).
Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
In the twenty-first century, the consequences of anthropogenic activity and the resulting changes in climate and reduction in biodiversity are having a substantial impact on the human body, threatening human survival. The unknown scope of environmental and ecological conditions may lead to a global existential threat. This research reimagines and redefines the body and its relationality to an increasingly environmentally fragile planet, through the proposition of Exoskeletal Living Systems (ELS). A modular set of biologically integrated interfaces between the body and its surroundings as a protective encasement system is suggested — achieving new aesthetics in a mode of critical posthuman practice. Bioregenerative Life Support Systems are interpreted through photographic explorations, supported by design and biochemical engineering. The perception of the body as a singular cultural agent is challenged through characterising sympoietic (making-with) alliances. Exoskeletal Living Systems are suggested as a response, through speculative design, to climatic existential risk conditions on Earth and for supporting life beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | Ph.D |
| Title: | Visions of a Critical Posthuman Practice: Embodying Exoskeletal Living Systems (ELS) |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2024. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of the Built Environment > The Bartlett School of Architecture |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10190162 |
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