Figures of the Neutral: Intensities and Suspensions Within Art Practice

Roland Barthes’ last series of lectures, published in English under the title of “The Neutral” are like a set of impossible exercises: to resist the importance of meaning, of signification. At the heart of this attempt lies the desire for a neither/or, a philosophy of ninisme (neither-norism). By looking at examples from a wide range of art practices, as well as by exploring the motives of my own photographic practice, I will attempt to posit the “figures” as a working methodology.