This thesis documents the survival modes formed under contemporary capitalism, creative forms that emerge not by choice, but as a result of being pushed to the edges of a system that leaves little room to breathe.
In a world where information moves too quickly, technology keeps feeding us more knowledge than we can hold, and capitalism demands constant digestion. Every answer understood one moment can be overturned the next. Thoughts are interrupted by new inputs, leaving us endlessly piecing together fragments while trying to survive inside a field of confusion and unease.
As human beings, we try to slow down, to grow quietly, to return to ourselves. But the system erodes us bit by bit, until what remains is a minimized, sometimes nearly zero, version of staying true to ourselves.
The fragments, breaks, interruptions, hiding, and withdrawal that I leave behind are survival strategies forced into existence by this time. Creation is no longer growth; it is the residue/leftover waste after staying alive inside a structure that does not allow free breathing. These materials are not uplifting, yet they offer a real form of relief, a way to keep from being swallowed whole.
THESIS QUESTION
- When capitalism continues to seize a person’s freedom, time, and mental space, what does creation become?
- In a time when free thought is compressed, and feeling is constantly interrupted, how can I leave evidence with only the small amount of time and nervous-system space I still have?
- How does contemporary capitalism shape, pressure, and ultimately alter the creative needs and methods of an individual?
- If creation is no longer growth but residue, how can these leftovers become a way for a person to maintain their existence within the system?