Fleshthetics of the Postcolonial Body

Examining Contested Identities in the Works of Studio Oleomingus

Abstract

Through a holistic analysis of the games by Studio Oleomingus, the paper will explore the concept of ‘Fleshthetics’, examining how the postcolonial body/Flesh is a palimpsest and collage of both lived experience(s) and intergenerational phantom histories. The games we have chosen are The Uncertain Repetitions of Truth, A Museum of Dubious Splendors, In the Pause Between the Ringing, The Indifferent Wonder of an Edible Place, and Folds of a Separation. The Flesh is not simply rooted in materiality, but is a symptom of a condition, an assemblage (of identities), an absent-present body. In Studio Oleomingus’s games, the postcolonial body/Flesh is, thereby, inherently Plastic. Influenced by discourses enveloping it, the Flesh manifests itself and its Plasticity in a non-linear spatiotemporality. By playing and analysing the games, this paper shows how the blended style of play accentuates the fragmented existence of the postcolonial Flesh. As such, this paper forms only an introduction into the larger domain of Fleshthetics, unearthing untapped potential that can be harvested through further work beyond the simple constraints of media, genre and academic discipline.