A CONFLUENCE OF BODIES: DRAWING PARALLELS BETWEEN THE COMMODIFICATION OF HUMAN AND MORE-THAN-HUMAN BODIES AS A TOOL FOR THE ANALYSIS OF SEX TRAFFICKING AND ANTHROPOGENIC ENVIRONMENTAL EXPLOITATION

Abstract

The Anthropocene is characterized by human-driven change. In this age, humans proliferate and we are closer than ever before to one another and other species. Despite, or perhaps because of this propinquity, humans increasingly commodify bodies: those of humans, more-than-humans, and Earth itself. As a survivor, I observe parallels between the commodification of human bodies via sex trafficking and more-than-human bodies through anthropogenic environmental exploitation. It is the primary argument of this thesis that these forms of bodily commodification are mirror images originating from a common ancestor: man. This commodification remains visible at the site of the body: my own, the Earth’s and more-than-human species. The way in which the body appears, speaks, and behaves testify to this visibility. Therefore, the body, in its multitude of forms, is a site at which the trauma of commodification haunts, a place that remembers, and the subject of my artwork. In order to support these assertions, this thesis clearly defines variable forms of commodification of human bodies via sex trafficking and more-than-human bodies via environmental exploitation, illustrating likenesses between the two. Next, it describes the resultant symptomatologies, continuing to compare these forms of exploitation. A transdisciplinary economic, political ecology, and biomedical framework is then applied in order to explain why these effects occur. Vitally, I also explore how these connections are visible in the subject matter and materiality of my artwork. I argue that the use of textiles, natural dyes, ecoprinting, and the incorporation of natural and synthetic materials are iterative processes of making kin, building ecosystems, and establishing connections among similarly commodified forms. Lastly, this thesis traces paths forward, strategies that involve overcoming the uncanny and abject body through intentional re-visiting of the past and making kin. I propose that by creating literal and figurative spaces for care of self and more-than-self, healing is possible. Ultimately, I demonstrate that staying with trouble in the company of similarly commodified entities allows one to safely remake and reimagine.