"Rather than work through case studies, as is (understandably) common in the humanities, I trace patterns of form and effect across a purposely large and even unwieldy mix of examples. I also rely on an eclectic mix of lenses and subfields, from intersectionality and assemblage theory to performativity and science studies. (I see this as part of an internet-specific interpretive practice I dub “plural reading.”)

My questions are both critical and analytical. How can artists and museums best seize on the aesthetic potential in analogy and arrangement? How is assembly different from well-known combinatorial forms like montage and collage? What can “assembly-infused” maps and practices of “memetic drip” contribute to the expressive demands of climate justice? How do certain pernicious uses of digital assembly, especially those that target social justice movements, manage to succeed, and what can be done in turn?"

Kyle Parry discusses his book A Theory of Assembly in the August 2023 cover interview at ROROTOKO.