Præternatural argues that the monster is used as a metaphor in this shift in perception from divinity through to scientific discovery. During the 16^th century, the monstrous was indicative of a sign of a divine power. Western culture throughout this time was greatly influenced by religious and moral beliefs, positioning deformities as portents of retribution and punishment from God. Yet, from the late 16^th century and throughout the 17^th century, the monstrous became part of a system of collecting driven by a culture of curiosity. The 18^th century brought with it increasingly detailed observation and the recording of normal and abnormal anatomy and within this, the monstrous began to take its place as recordable and observable scientific phenomenon. And finally, the 19^th century established the methodologies of medical and biological research that enabled a limited corporeal understanding of the monstrous. However, it also represented a decline in the more humane aspects of interest in the grotesque.

The second area of Praeternatural addresses a contemporary contextulisation of the monstrous, specifically in relation to its absence or phasing out, via the use of genetic screening. Taking further the current relations between science, medicine and the body, I address not only at the absence of the monster, but the absence of the body itself from these contemporary biotechnological discourses. In particular, I have focued on developments within genetics as these relate to attempts to abolish the monstrous and its corporealities.

The interactive, and its theoretical underpinnings, cover an expansive period of time; from the seventeenth century through to the present. It is not designed to be a textbook-accurate historical and contemporary account of the monstrous, but rather a critical genealogy that is based on myth, perception and overall, the concerns of a given society at a given time. Inevitably, it is designed to critique contemporary attitudes towards notions of bodily and physical acceptability.

The interface for Præternatural has adopted the metaphor of the microscope. The main index screen is an electron microscopic which then proceeds into various microscopic images — designed to introduce each section. Visually, this screen remains relatively simple and sound is introduced as the principle method for navigation. The background will always remain black — with all visual material appearing to float in a sea of darkness.

The website is an abridged version of the CD Rom. For more information, or to order a copy of Præternatural, contact Michele Barker at M.Barker@unsw.edu.au