Dalila Honorato

This Special Issue of Technoetic Arts (TA) journal is dedicated to the explorations and provocations emerging from the latest edition of the conference Taboo–Transgression–Transcendence in Art & Science (TTT). These seven articles, initially selected, presented and discussed on the island of Malta (2023), show the international and interdisciplinary range of a community which started to take shape almost a decade ago. At the time of the release of this publication, practically two years after TTT2023, we stand on a particular moment in between post-pandemic exhaustion and inability to conceive the practicality of bellic conflict. How distasteful, the lack of better narrative still based on dubious nationalist ideas, hideously hiding economic interests of an elite who seems to care less, and blame more, the anonymous citizen as scapegoat to induce self-blame on ecological precarity and the loss of vision for possible grassroots – the themes of taboo, transgression and transcendence have never been more relevant. As Goya perceived wonders in the collaboration between reason and imagination too saw hope along unmapped roads which were the sole reason why giving up was not the wisest choice and why those who embrace the unexplored should not despair. In this line of thought, the authors included in this issue demonstrate how art and humanities are responding to these post-truth conditions by questioning assumptions about citizen vs. technology power relations and the ethics of life and death research practices.

By definition the conference series Taboo - Transgression - Transcendence in Art & Science includes theoretical presentations and artists’ talks focusing (a) on questions about the nature of the forbidden and about the aesthetics of liminality, as expressed in art that uses or is inspired by technology and science, and (b) on the opening of spaces for creative transformation in the merging of science and art. The organization of Taboo - Transgression - Transcendence in Art & Science 2018 in Mexico City, the third conference of the TTT series, embodies the trust and support that constitutes its community. After three years working in the organization of TTT in Corfu the possibility to see it happening across the Greek borders and, above all, on the other side of the Atlantic was overwhelming. I am personally grateful to María Antonia González Valerio, Marta de Menezes, Ana Ventura Miranda and Andreas Giannakoulopoulos for gracefully challenging the concept of a conference’s digital organization in real-time space and for kindly bringing in their immense experience and ability to connect beyond limits. I am also thankful to all TTT2018 participants who have generously shared their experiences, offering, through their presentations, excellence and respect for the concept of interdisciplinarity and collaboration, independently of each other’s status. Finally, my appreciation for the discrete and inestimable sustaining role of my fellow members on the Steering Committee of the TTT conference series: Roy Ascott, Andreas Floros, Gunalan Nadarajan, Melentie Pandilovski, Stelarc, Polona Tratnik and Adam Zaretsky. I am also thankful for the support of the Scientific-artistic committee. Together the Commitees insured that TTT2018 in Mexico City was an intentionally facilitated meeting point, organized to safely host the free interaction of ideas around liminal issues in the frame of Art&Sci.

This article examines, analyses and compares the cinematic representation of three female protagonists (on three respective films) within their portrayed incestuous relationships. It also attempts to draw significant conclusions about their dynamic as female participating subjects in these affairs in a more inclusive way, one that takes into consideration their racial, gender, social and family characteristics. As incest itself is one of the strongest human taboos, various questions regarding the female portrait and position in such relationships arise: as incest constitutes the strongest social taboo of human civilization, is it similarly portrayed in cinema? Can incest be a female’s act of choice or is it just a male’s one? Are there any differences between male and female depictions of incestuous desire and sexual act? In which ways do potential differences, such as social status, class origin, racial and gender stereotypes, influence the protagonists of incestuous relationships? Which female motivations are involved in incestuous relationships?

Women in the field of art and science have an unquestionable presence worldwide that exceeds their visibility in the general visual art scene. When cataloguing women’s range of practices and exploring their agency in art and science, a new model of inclusivity and access to the public sphere for all individuals working in art emerges. First, these are contributions reflecting on projects being carried out by women in the broadest interpretation of the term – individuals who identify themselves as women, cisgender, non-cisgender, transgender, gender fluid and independent of their sex and gender. Second, these are contributions that reflect on research methodologies, collaboration strategies, knowledge sharing, as well as public vs. personal, embodiment and materiality.

In nature validation for physiological and emotional bonding becomes a mode for supporting social connectivity. Similarly, in the blockchain ecosystem, cryptographic validation becomes the substrate for all interactions. In the dialogue between human and artificial intelligence (AI) agents, between the real and the virtual, one can distinguish threads of physical or mental entanglements allowing different modes of participation. One could even suggest that in all types of realities there exist frameworks that are to some extent equivalent and act as validation mechanisms for behavioural interweaving. Relevant to our own experience as an Editorial Organism, in this issue of Technoetic Arts we explore modes of participation and collaboration through different lenses by including guest-edited sections and stand-alone articles.

Human–robot interaction (HRI) is the study focused on the relationship between humans and robots. HRI as a study combines elements from different fields such as computer science, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, psychology and sociology. With the advancement in the field of AI, HRI showed greater improvements and now, we have the first robot recognized as a citizen of a country: Sophia the robot. Sophia is a robot that has a humanoid form, first made her appearance in 2016 and, according to her creators, is a mix of technology, arts and robotics. Since then, Sophia has made a lot of appearances in different TV shows, given interviews and participated in commercials. Sophia also has her own social media accounts. Our study focuses on Sophia’s presence on social media and the ways she communicates with people and the rhetorics she makes use of. Hence, it studies the advances on HRI and the issues encountered in the field of communication. For our research, we used purposive sampling and content analysis in cases needed in order to study Sophia’s communication patterns and behaviour. At this point, we will delve into the communication with the AI aspect of HRI.