In · Body · Ed: The Essay as Installation

Abstract

This article aims to discuss the In·Body·Ed installation completed for the Media Arts & Culture master's degree final thesis show at SUNY Purchase College. The opening of the exhibition was scheduled for May 11, 2020, the same day that the university announced the social distance measures and suspended its face-to-face activities due to Covid-19. The project title carries a double and convergent meaning. It refers to the word embodied, that is, "to give tangible or visible form to an idea, quality or feeling," as well as "in-person" or "in body" education, reflecting the theme of my work that touches my two years of study, employment and housing at a university in a foreign country. Having dedicated myself to the research of the essay form as part of my master's degree, the conception of the installation was inspired by my considerations on the article Translating the Essay into Film and Installation by Nora M. Alter, which I will discuss here. However, the pandemic that unfolded next brought new connotations to the piece. This article is written in light of this unique moment.