Exploring identity through the

works of Arca and other

contemporaries
It is a pattern of nature for things to evolve, and
with time as we unlock newer perspectives of
intellect, we also update the media we utilise
to communicate such abstract ideas. As artist
Sam Gilliam says, abstract art is political
because it exists as an omnipotent force
conveying complex concoctions of feelings and
sentiments. And from its inherently ontological
sense, it's almost clear that abstract art has a
symbiotic connection to identity.
I like to think identity is explosive and to
explore this idea I shall take the example of the
audiovisual piece “Now You Know” by Arca
and her long-time fellow collaborator, japan-
born Jesse Kanda. In the music video created by
Kanda, we see embers erupting from what
seems to be us, in first person. A likening of
ourselves to a firework. Identity cannot be
contained. Schopenhauer, by contrast, thinks
that the concept of the individual is itself
illusory, and that, while under this illusion, we
cannot be happy, because life consists of
suffering; the Will has no interest in our
happiness, merely in the continuation of
existence. In its extrapolation, I believe the
self-illusory nature of identity is what makes it
all the more important for us to meticulously
craft our identity according to our
metaphysical demands, and hence an
explosion.
Taking Arca and Kanda’s works further, the
idea that the expression of identity is a self-
mutilating act can be traversed. Whether
through music or art or the marriage between
the two, it is only when you cut yourself open
that you can discover what you are made of, of
course in a dialectical sense. The fleshly and
cerebral nature of kanda's work is what makes
it all the more impactful- the dislocated joints,
the blended organs in their most visceral
states, the unnaturally oriented bodies are all a
nod to the metaphysical symbolism of self-
mutilation for identity and a channel for
vulnerability. Arca’s sounds complement this
sentiment through broken sopranos, falsettos
and staccatos.
The recurring theme of metal versus flesh in
Arca's work is again a representation of this
mutilation. In her music video for her track,
nonbinary, Arca explores the concept of self-
states, an ecosystem of personalities we grow.
This idea of integration and inclusion is
intimidating and exciting like the surgeries we
perform. Her work floats in the realm of joyous
celebration and defiant transgression of
identity through abstract tools with powerful
impact.
SOPHIE, the eternal goddess of contemporary
pop, and the collective of creatives she was
associated with - PC music - present us with
another intriguing perspective of identity
exploration. One in the digital age. Their
dissection of identity in the digital realm is a
new perspective of life itself. Like how special
relativity in physics says that when we
approach the speed of light or vice versa, we
perceive things to become shorter but in reality
we see the things rotate in an aberrant sense,
PC music proves that the way we discern the
internet as vacuous and superfluous is just one
side of the coin. The exploration of self through
the internet unlocks new views on political
phenomena as well - capitalism, psychopolitics
and such.