Abstract
The resurgence of techno-nostalgia has emerged as a defining characteristic of contemporary digital culture, particularly among younger generations for whom the early stages of digital democratization, such as the personal computer or the early Web, have become mediated collective memories or even simulated experiences. This shift has given rise to new visual imaginaries articulated through aesthetic currents such as Dreamcore, Y2K, and Vaporwave. These aesthetics commonly inhabit spaces between familiarity and strangeness. They are characterized by recognizable yet displaced or fragmented visual elements and often construct a surreal and fragile aesthetic. Retro aesthetics operate across generations: what was once a lived experience for one cohort is now re-encoded as aesthetic simulation for another, producing a visual logic rooted in loss, persistence, and temporal disjunction. By inhabiting liminal spaces of memory and mediation, these cultural expressions blur the lines between personal recollection and shared nostalgia, between obsolete technologies and their contemporary reinterpretations. This paper investigates how contemporary image-making reclaims the past in order to reimagine the present, by analyzing artistic practices that reengage with retro-digital codes through strategies such as remediation, citation, recontextualization, and affective layering. This paper examines how retro-digital images function within visual culture, questioning why these forms of expression have shifted from niche subcultures to dominant cultural modes. Ultimately, these practices contribute to a renewed democratization of visual production, shaped by the emotional resonance of a lost digital future and the aesthetic potential of our shared liminal imaginaries.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
2025 Special Focus—From Democratic Aesthetics to Digital Culture
KEYWORDS
LIMINAL AESTHETICS, TECHNO-NOSTALGIA, RETRO-DIGITAL CULTURE, COLLECTIVE MEMORY, ARTISTIC PRACTICE
