Rhizomatic Remediation: Adaptation in a Web-Based Art Praxis During Time(s) of Crises

Abstract

Willingness and the ability to adapt is vital in time(s) of crises. Remediation provides one novel and useful example of adaptation in contemporary digital art. This study explores the personal experiences of an art practice moving to virtual exhibition spaces, both by choice and as a response to multiple simultaneous crises (pandemic, environmental, racial, and democractic). This research reflects on three distinct examples of individual, subjective experiences of art making and exhibiting during this sudden shift. Each example highlights different approaches and possibilities, and examines similarities and contrasts in scales (local, national. and international) as well as more specific forms of remediation and relocation. Key findings include the different forms of remediation (different ways the art is translated for digital presentation) as well as the value of postinternet aesthetics, posthuman metamorphosis, and the nonsite. These themes help narrate these experiences and reflect more on these scenarios in ways that might be useful to other artists, curators, creative thinkers and practitioners. A suggestion is made that these groups would benefit from recognizing the value of rhizomatic (multi-centered, interrelated, and inclusive) approaches that include active remediation and adaptation.