The Meaning of Abjection in the Work of Julia Kristeva and its Reflection in Contemporary Figurative Art

The depiction and presentation of abnormal figures and wounded, mutilated and sickly bodies is a trend in contemporary figurative art. This trend is known as “abject art”. In the world of art, this title was first used in an exhibition of figurative works by contemporary artists in New York’s Whitney Museum. Of course, the depiction of the abject and abjection is not exclusive to contemporary art and can also be seen in the paintings left for us from the sixteenth century. But the first use of these words in philosophical discourse belongs to the year 1982, i.e. when Julia Kristeva, a contemporary philosopher, psychoanalyst and linguist used it in her article “Powers of Horror, an Essay on Abjection”. Abject art is born of the crisis of modern art; it is born of the wars, destruction, diseases and powers that target humanity and its’ fate. Studying the idea of abjection in the discourse of Julia Kristeva and its reflection in contemporary life and art is the main goal of this endeavor. To reach this goal, information has been collected from documents and is presented in a descriptive-analytical manner. Kristeva searches for the roots of abjection in childhood: the time when the seed of all that is identified as identity in humans, germinates in the shadow of the desire to be different. The desire to differ oneself from that which is simultaneously both in contrast to and part of his being, a desire that never leads to a complete separation. Abjection accompanies hate and violence and not only makes identity, but also endangers it.