The application of identity as an 'unfixed' and 'unstable' state within visual arts. Identity as an 'unfixed' and 'unstable' state

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The application of identity as an 'unfixed' and 'unstable' state within visual arts.

Identity as an 'unfixed' and 'unstable' state.

There are a number of complex theories which centre upon questions of identity. There are many issues that need to be considered when discussing this complicated area of study. I propose to examine some of these issues of identity with the support of the work of several artists whom I feel, at least in some part, directly or otherwise, deal with identity as an influence within their work.

"Personal identity within philosophical accounts almost always centres on the question of what internal feature of the person establishes the continuity or self-identity of the person through time". (1)

Judith Butler, in her book "Gender Trouble" warns us to be wary of considering the subject of identity as if there are set attributes within us that create or control the person we project outwardly towards others. We often believe that within each person there is a true and fixed identity. The theorist Foucault rejected this view. Foucault explained 'identity' as something we communicate to others during our interactions with them, a shifting and temporary construction. Because we