Articulating the interstitial: exploring the aesthetics of transience

The paper explores the aesthetic topographies of the digital as expressed in the collaborative series of artworks, ‘Interstitial Articulations’, by audiovisual duo Alison Clifford and Graeme Truslove. Based on a collection of photographic light paintings
that depict abstract, ethereal, ‘interstitial’ light-forms, the artworks reimagine these forms in new digital contexts beyond the boundaries of the photographic image to present new aesthetic propositions for interstitial and transient form. In this on-going
collaboration, the digital environment becomes a space of discovery, where these aesthetics are investigated through conceptual mappings between meaning, image and sound; and through remediation, interpretation, and translation.

The paper presents the conceptual underpinning for the creative practice, arguing via metaphorical mappings, that the light-forms are visual representations of the interstitial (or what Duchamp termed the ‘infra-slim’); it then discusses the creative methods employed in remediating, interpreting and translating the aesthetic qualities of these forms to new audio and visual mappings. The discussion of creative methods encompasses two distinct approaches towards the creation of form: firstly,
the use of generative and natural systems, and algorithms that facilitate unforeseen audiovisual outcomes resulting in a more organic aesthetic; and secondly, direct manipulation of form through 3D modelling and montage techniques, leading to predefined audiovisual outcomes that demonstrate an aesthetic that is more synthetic in nature.

In summary, referring to the artworks in the ‘Interstitial Articulations’ series, the paper considers the artists’ approach to the digital domain as a space for imaginative interpretation through creative practice, where intuition and speculation inform audio and visual re-imaginings of photographic form to create new audiovisual worlds and alternative realities.