malu laet
Sally's Rite of Integration
3:00pm
2023, performance, interactive sonic sculptures, props
Sally is a tech wizard and a haptic avatar; she functions as a mediator of virtuality. Sally practices theurgy of cyber-alchemy, which is the cyber craft of opening virtual worlds in real life (IRL). Sally crafts ‘magic-technologies,’ which represent two forms of world-building: technology as an abstract and systematic cosmology, while magic occurs in a gap of experience, serving as a reality system that is opened and situated.
Sally applies these two modes of reality crafting to develop her cyber-alchemical interfaces, which manifest their interactivity sonically in ceremonial performances. Her magic technologies include sonic swords, Wi-Fi wands, and eucharistically amplified pots—tools for accessing virtuality. She also utilises her exo-heart, a console of intensity that can recode and reshape affective signals sonically.
Sally employs her tools in rites of integration; these are alchemical dramas, mystery plays, or a theater of image that embodies a cyber-mythological world in which Sally is embedded. She operates within mediology, a junction of media and medium: an approximation between technological communication and mediunic intuition. Her alchemy involves works of networking and integration within and through the virtual sphere.
Avital Meshi
AI Séance
2:30pm, 3:30pm, 4:30pm
2024, An AI wearable + Flameless LED candles
AI Séance is a live, interactive performance where an AI wearable device transforms the artist into a spiritual medium. This captivating experience merges technology and mysticism, inviting participants to explore the boundaries of the digital and the spiritual.
Participants, ready to invite a spirit into the space, gather in a close circle, holding lights to create a connected and intimate atmosphere. Together, they agree on a specific spirit to summon. The artist, equipped with the AI wearable device, initiates the séance, calling forth the chosen spirit with the hope of making a connection. Once the spirit's presence is detected, participants are encouraged to engage by asking questions. The AI wearable, acting as a conduit, facilitates this unique communication, allowing participants to experience the spirit's presence and responses in real-time.
This performance explores the intersection of human belief, technological advancement, and artistic performance, offering an immersive journey into the unknown.
Glenn Potter-Takata
TV Buddha except on the internet
4:00pm
2024, Polylactic Acid, Single-Channel Video, Live Performance
TV Buddha except on the internet is a butoh performance work that critiques the commodification of Buddhism as it has become part of the American mainstream. The title of the work is taken from the Nam June Paik sculpture, TV Buddha, where a found Buddha sculpture is placed in front of a closed-circuit video channel and continuously views a live feed of itself. TV Buddha except on the internet expounds on this representation of Buddhist imagery through mass media, and uses a tiny video projection to juxtapose 3D renderings of Buddhas with media imports from Japan, like Sailor Moon and Pokemon, essentially flattening the differences between these cultural properties into a consumer-driven monolith. The 3D renderings are also paired with 3D-printed versions of the digital objects, bringing the digital into the tangible as an analogy for Buddhist distinctions between the consciousness and the material. This visual landscape is activated with a butoh score based on written instructions illustrating conceptions of emptiness and the non-self.
