The Fold

In The Fold, Laura U. Marks sets out a practical philosophy and aesthetic theory for living in a cosmos where everything is connected. She draws on Leibniz, Glissant, Deleuze and the theoretical physicist David Bohm, who each picture the universe as folded in on itself in countless ways. Marks argues that the folds of the cosmos are made up entirely of living beings. Humans, sandwiches, software and stars alike are alive, and each occupies its own private enclosure within the cosmos.

The book looks at fiction, documentary and experimental movies, interactive media and everyday situations. From these Marks develops embodied methods for noticing and strengthening the links between each living entity and the cosmos as a whole.

She shows that by affectively mediating the shifting folded relations around us, readers can build "soul-assemblages". These challenge information capitalism, colonialism and other power structures, and open up new connections with the infinite. The book serves as a guide to living in an enfolded and unfolding cosmos, helping readers perceive the world more richly and follow the processes of becoming that are immanent in the fold.