I AM THESEUS’S SHIP

Design / animation

I am Theseus’s ship
named by his touch

but touch becomes memory
and wood becomes rot

I am a shape I don’t recognize
falling apart for the memory of someone long gone

if I build myself again
plank by plank, rope by rope

If I survive metamorphosis
and am reborn into a shape I can love

Am I Theseus’ Ship
Would he recognize me

Would it be so terrible if he didn’t

Concept

The Ship of Thesus is a thought experiment exploring an object or person’s identity and relationship with the self.

A ship that once belonged to Theseus deteriorates over a period of time. As old parts rot, they are taken away and replaced with new, stronger parts. After a thousand years there remains no material on the ship original to the ship as Thesus had known it. The experiment asks, is this still the ship of Theseus?

One proposed solution says no, this is not the same ship; its identity as the ship of Theseus lies in the fact that its planks are the very ones that have been touched by Theseus, and thus retain his memory.

An alternate solution says that it is the same ship, but that change is an inherent condition of existence- it is possible for it to be the same ship, while no longer being Theseus’s ship.

This is one way of thinking of identity for trans folk. A person can undergo transition and emerge new, while still retaining their self identity.

I combined the metaphors of the Ship of Theseus with that of a caterpillar and butterfly, another symbol commonly associated with gender transition. When a caterpillar undergoes metamorphosis it dissolves into a formless goo before emerging from its cocoon as a completely different creature that still retains its memories as a caterpillar. What’s more, this process is the natural progression of its life- it had to transform in order to grow.

Identity is multifaceted and ever changing. 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️