ABSTRACT
The chapter co-considers the corporeal human body and collective political body, asserting the tether which persists between them. Where the former is an urgent site of violence and exploitation, the latter is the site at which these unequal effects of dehumanising abstraction continue to be ‘legitimised’. This link is examined alongside consideration of what constitutes a ‘site’ as our navigation of the world becomes increasingly textual.
The history of the public sphere is traced, observing how bodies and labour have been bracketed out of its discussion. And yet, these are the very sites at which inequities in most urgent need of addressing are perpetuated.
The gig economy is examined as a case study. Paradoxically, while it exemplifies many aspects of exploitative extraction, instances where a potential coming together might instigate resistance can also be found within it.
Turning to art, the chapter offers a critique of some prevalences within ‘participatory’ and ‘socially engaged’ practices. Instead of a-critically accepting such logics, an argument for a parallel disembodiment of the artwork and embodiment of the artist is made.
