Thesis Supervisor: Mayra A. Rodríguez Castro

Thesis: ONE DAY, THREE BODIES: An Exploration of the Boundaries and Behaviour of our Digital, Physical, and Spiritual Presence

July 2025

Abstract

What if the matter you study changes precisely because you study it, and what if this matter pertains your own existence?

This is a search for the edges—of what we are and what we are not. How we distinguish between ourselves and otherness is fundamental to our understanding of the world. At its core, this is an attempt to gain a deeper understanding of the matter we inhabit and the spaces we occupy.

This research focuses on three bodies: the spiritual, the digital, and the physical. By mirroring these bodies and distorting their processes, I aim to refract our observations; to look deeply rather than merely recognise. This work challenges static notions of embodiment and aims to become less constrained by the ideas and reflexes that inhabit our systems. Challenging the authority of those who wield and hold the measuring stick.

‘If we wish to change our world, first we have to change the idea of 'reality' that defines it.¹’ If we wish to get to know the world, we have to ask ourselves where and how we are present.

Keywords: units, fractures, bits, dissociation, disruption, digital presence, spiritual presence, boundaries, otherness, touch.

1. Federico Campagna, Technic and Magic: The Reconstruction of Reality, Bloomsbury, accessed July 18, 2025.

Author: Lisa Vlamings