Master Thesis: The Body As An Archive

January 2025, University of Applied Arts Vienna.

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My thesis aims to explore the body as a living archive, capturing the visible and invisible marks we accumulate throughout our lives. The inspiration came from a bump on my finger that is a result of holding my phone always in a certain way —and it has sparked a deeper reflection on how our bodies are silently recording personal, cultural, and historical narratives.
Through storytelling and phenomenological analysis, I was trying to examine how these marks, whether from caregiving, trauma, daily habits, or technology, serve as physical evidence of our interactions with the world. Moreover, attempting to delve into the broader implications of these imprints, such as the colonial legacy visible in beauty standards, posture or the digital age's impact on our bodies, and how some of these marks could even lead to evolution in the human race altogether as well. So especially noting down collective as well as individual memories, and, by drawing from cultural theory, philosophy, and personal stories, my research then tries to emphasize the interplay between this personal and collective memory. To investigate how these unintentional marks (e.g., calluses, scars, or body modifications that are shaped by habit) differ from deliberate ones, like tattoos for example, yet both act as profound reminders of identity, resilience, and history.
Furthermore, the thesis reflects on the implications of body memory in contemporary contexts, questioning how the evolving technologies and societal shifts will also continue to shape and archive our bodies even further, especially in an increasingly digital world we now live in.