Cat Azazel

MFA ’20 Fine Arts Low-Residency

My work posits a physical, material synthesis of the body where the boundary of what we see as “body” loses fixity, becoming malleable and permeable. We are taught to think of our bodies as clearly defined systems and organisms with a given set of properties, inputs, and outputs which are considered original, native, natural, and organic. However, this implies a concept of body that pre-exists the body itself, to which the body is continually in comparison to or in deviation from. What I argue is that the body is a continually developing event which envelopes and incorporates (literally to form into a body) behaviors, situations, and extensions as a process of expansion and growth. These extensions can be physical objects added to or alterations to the physical form of the body, but can also encompass languages, behaviors, speech patterns, customs, attire, or social connections. We are always constructing our bodies and ourselves, and thus we are constructions, composed of the default material of flesh and modified through a process of incorporating other material. Our bodies are systems which organize and reorganize physically and socially, often forming hybrid bodies (which may contain other bodies). We attach and detach, reshaping ourselves to accommodate the myriad situations we find ourselves in.




Cat Azazel is a multidisciplinary artist producing digital media for the Internet and beyond. They create work which encompasses animation, sound, music, and performance, mixing traditional physical materials with digital tools to create dynamic interactive experiences. When not making art, they collect books, records, and video games, but seldom have time to enjoy them.