Critical Art as a Site of Resingularisation

This text explores desire-as-production, as developed by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, in relation to pre-individual and sensuous modes of experience that emerge early in life and become increasingly complex over time. It examines how capitalist systems have historically mobilised a repressive model of desire-as-lack to shape subjectivity through consumption and unmet needs. Against this backdrop, the article argues that critical art practices animated by desire-as-production offer a powerful counter-force. These practices often deploy asignifying elements that disrupt dominant semiotic regimes and the standardised cartographies that structure subjectivities. Through the analysis of art practices the article identifies how they constitute heterogeneous agencements. ¹ In doing so, these practices can catalyse processes of resingularisation, challenge hegemonic imaginaries, and contribute to the production of alternative modes of living, relating and world-making.