Disrupting Binary Thinking Through the Power of Artistic Practice

Are you starting the new year feeling a bit negative about the state of the world? Me too. As I have said in my book, I believe a lot of our problems boil down to our inability to critically think through the oversupply of information we receive on a regular basis. The opposite of divergent or critical thinking is binary thinking.

Binary thinking divides the world into two opposing categories: good or bad, right or wrong, black or white. This way of thinking simplifies complex realities but often limits understanding and creativity. It is evident in all sorts of issues, propping up stereotypes and stopping people from grasping the nuances of human experience. People stop questioning what they are told by people whose purpose is to maintain power and control, not work towards an existence that allows everyone to thrive. I believe, it is the root cause of problems in America, the issues with climate change and the extinction crisis among other things.

Artistic practice offers a powerful way to disrupt these rigid binaries by exploring ambiguity, contradiction, and fluidity. Artists who challenge binary thinking invite audiences to question assumptions and embrace complexity in new ways. However even people who undertake artistic practice can be rigid in their interpretation of the world in general and the artistic world in particular. I experienced this often in art education, with many teachers and curriculum authorities determining that art is either "good or bad", "right or wrong". This leads to the belief that people either have talent or not, they are either artists or not, so a huge proportion of the population regard themselves as "non-artists" and never partake of creative activity.

My artwork "Last of Its Kind" which challenges the Victorian penchant for preserving species in a decorative way whilst at the same time contributing to their elimination.

Understanding Binary Thinking in Art

Binary thinking categorizes concepts into two distinct groups, such as male/female, light/dark, or nature/culture. In art, this often manifests as strict genres, styles, or themes that separate works into clear categories. While binaries can help organize ideas, they also restrict how artists express identity, emotion, and meaning.

For example, traditional portraiture often separates subjects into clear categories like hero/villain or beauty/ugliness. This limits the portrayal of complex human experiences. By contrast, artists who reject binaries create works that resist easy classification, encouraging viewers to engage with nuance.

Just this morning I was reading an article by Ben Quilty where he said:

"The only way to grow healthy, robust social fibre is through building an independent and confident culture. And the only way to build a confident culture is through encouraging the arts, in all their forms, by creating the conditions to tell our own stories" (Quilty, 2026).

How Artistic Practice Challenges Binaries

Artistic practice that encourages divergent as opposed to binary thinking includes things like:

• Blending categories: Combining elements from different genres, cultures, or identities to create hybrid forms. For example, mixing sculpture with digital media or merging traditional craft with contemporary themes.

• Embracing ambiguity: Creating works that are open to multiple interpretations rather than fixed meanings. Abstract art often invites this kind of engagement.

• Highlighting contradictions: Presenting conflicting ideas or emotions side by side to show complexity. This can be seen in works that explore themes like love and hate, or freedom and control simultaneously.

• Using non-linear narratives: Rejecting straightforward storytelling in favor of fragmented or cyclical structures that challenge binary logic of beginning and end.

  
  

These approaches encourage audiences to move beyond simple oppositions and consider a spectrum of possibilities. So, if you have an art teacher who makes disparaging comments about your art, or who uses terms like "good and bad" or "high and low" art, then run. Fast. Find a teacher who is not going to insist on the "right" way of going about things and helps you to explore your own storytelling. This is crucial not only to your artistic development, but your transition from a binary to a critical thinker!

As such, artistic education in schools needs to radically change, I believe. It needs to stop being about getting good marks and more about developing creativity. School leaders, politicians and anyone else who makes decisions about schooling need to stop placing more importance on academic or sporting achievement. As Art Education expert, Elliot Eisner insists that the study of art “fosters flexibility, promotes a tolerance for ambiguity, encourages risk taking and depends on the exercise of judgement outside the sphere of rules” (2002, p.35). In other words, students learn to question what they are told is or is not correct; an important skill for those living in the 21st Century.

Practical Ways to Incorporate Disruption of Binary Thinking in Artistic Practice

Artists and educators can apply these ideas in their work and teaching:

• Experiment with mixed media: Combine materials and techniques from different traditions or disciplines.

• Create open-ended projects: Design assignments or artworks that encourage multiple interpretations rather than one “correct” answer.

• Explore identity fluidity: Use art to question fixed categories of gender, race, or culture.

• Incorporate storytelling techniques: Use non-linear or fragmented narratives to challenge conventional story arcs.

• Engage with community: Collaborate with diverse groups to bring multiple perspectives into the creative process.

This approach is not generally encouraged by the schooling system, even in art classes. It is often also missing from classes people pay good money for.

Mixed media work title "Deconstructing the Demonisation", Ann Russell, 2024

When artists challenge binary thinking, audiences are invited to:

• Reflect on their own assumptions and biases.

• Appreciate complexity and contradiction in human experience.

• Develop empathy for perspectives different from their own.

• Engage more deeply with art through active interpretation.

  
  

This shift can lead to more inclusive and thoughtful cultural conversations, and eventually a shift in the way society operates.

Artistic practice that disrupts binary thinking opens new pathways for creativity and understanding. By blending categories, embracing ambiguity, and highlighting contradictions, artists challenge simple oppositions and invite richer engagement with the world. To my way of thinking, this makes artistic practice essential in the modern world, not the optional frippery it is largely considered now.