Unlike a Version: the Lives of Digitised Artworks

This PhD takes as its starting point, that digitised art objects have worth and value in their own right. The digital reach of digitised art embodies the concept of "museums without walls" (Malraux cited in Horst and Miller: 267). I am interested in this online movement, and the exchange that can take place, e.g. when audiences manipulate digitised art works for their own uses, by creating or transforming them into other formats, e.g. GIFs or Memes. The democratisation of social media means that artworks can be transformed by the very audiences who were not able to have a hand in their initial storytelling, signifying a shift in rebalancing the means of (re)production. I am also interested in how digital artworks reflect their host institutions, particularly how they are interpreted, in terms of which narratives have been foregrounded or missed completely, the impact that has on audiences, and how could this be addressed digitally in a way that might not be as possible in an analogue way. The potential to enrich the digital visitor experience, for example through adding in layers of new content to a digital artwork, adding stories, background information, even x-rays of what's underneath the surface all hold exciting possibilities. I am also intrigued by the potential for accessibility, such as when digital artworks become the basis of experiences that allow visually impaired visitors to 'touch' them through haptic VR technology. These are just some aspects of the lives of digitised artworks which I find fascinating, united by the way in which the "...digital enhances mutability and polyphony and can make connections in time and space that transcend the possibility of other kinds of museum matter (Henning, ibid). Ultimately this PhD will chart the journeys of digitised artworks, analysing how they relate to their material counterparts, and what this might mean for Gallery spaces and the future of engagement with digital collections.