X.Y.Z3D

Plug-in-Body: Collaborative Statement

Architecture Students: Wenzuo Yi and Xin Ya Zhou
Dance Students: Melissa Leaupepe and Seidah Karati 

PDF Extract of our work can be downloaded here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FZ27M5Q6

Plug-in-Body is a collaboration project between third year Bachelor of Architectural Studies and Bachelor of Dance Studies students at the University of Auckland. Our brief is to recycle, recode and repossess an existing space by experimenting with technology and the body. 

Plug-in-Body involves recoding a site by embedding an anomaly to the existing network in the building, expanding the function of the selected space. Governed by the rules of the sensors, speakers and directional movements of the dancers, the body takes over the space and influences the public’s daily routine. The product from the project exaggerates the embedded nature of technology in our day-to-day activities and implants it onto the body.

 

The final site we choose to recycle, recode and repossess is the Kate Edgar Commons on the University of Auckland campus. An established network is present in the building which is created by the flow of the occupants as they move through the space. We intend to add to the network by metaphorically and literally plugging-in our dancers to the site, aided by their technologically modified bodies.

The technology that we chose to incorporate into our design and dance performance is the Arduino, an open-source electronics prototyping platform, which allows us to program the microcontroller and let it interpret the input data, such as from flex sensors, and relay and transform the information into mechanical functions. Our Arduino system works by bending a flex sensor, which in turn triggers the servo to rotate the volume dial of the radio, suddenly increasing the speaker sound output. When the flex sensor is applied to the dancers’ body, the performance becomes centered on bending certain limbs to produce sound. Hence creating an interdependent relationship between the dance and the technology.

Initially the two dancers shared one arduino that allowed the use of one flex sensor to each dancer. We felt this was too restrictive in turns of movement and confined them within a certain distance from one another. We felt this did not allow us to use the technology to its full potential. By expanding the arduino system to two separate arduino systems, it allowed the dancers more freedom to explore individual movements and explore the notion of space and distance between one another. It also allowed them to develop their own personas with the technology and incorporate their own choreographic style. Individual arduino system allowed two sensors on each body and the sensors’ placement on the body influenced the final performance. The final prototype is in the form of a headphones and belt. The headphone contains a radio and servo in each earpiece and the belt has corresponding speakers for each radio as well as the Arduino. The sensors can be taped to any part of the body.

After observing the Kate Edgar Common’s atrium space and experimenting with movement throughout level one and level 2 staircase, we came up with a set choreography that we believed exaggerated the characteristics of the building. The lines of the architectural space influences our choreography, as the movements are an extension to the building’s existing lines. The dancers’ linear movements mirror the atrium’s rigid structure. To express the height of the atrium space, we utilized the openness of the atrium by focusing on the stairway at its base, allowing various viewpoints of the performance throughout the building. Occupants were able to view the performance from various angles and perspectives, as we wanted to create points of focus in the main space. We aim to activate the occupants’ senses to focus on us without intruding in their personal space

The duet section that occurs at the end of our choreography is a narrative between the two dancers finding each other in the building. This section also illustrates the technology becoming the voice for the modified dancers. The cohesive nature of this duet allows the dancers to create sounds simultaneously to emphasize the dialogue created. This also provided the audience with an opportunity to create their own individual interpretation of the overall performance. However, after reviewing the footage, it was evident that there was a distinct connection with the occupants of the building as there was a defined crowd around the dancers. Yet they seemed confused and could not identify the source of which the sound was created from the dancers movements.  Things we did not expect were the amount of noise from the audience due to the busy nature of the site at the time.

In the initial stages, the dancers were both dressed in pedestrian clothing while wearing the technology. For the live performance, we decided to experiment with a set attire to emphasize the technology and relationship between the two dancers. We decided to wear one base colour (black), as well as highlighting the yellow wiring of the technology, clearly demonstrating that we were set apart from everyone else. We did not anticipate the impact of our attire until after the live performance. From the audience’s point of view, our overall aesthetic was intimidating and too otherworldly.

We performed multiple live performances on the same day to experiment with the placement of the sensors. In one of the performances Seidah placed the elbow sensor on her hand instead to allow her more control over the sound, making her particular performance more subversive, allowing her to move through the crowd and triggering sound more subtly. To improve on the quality of the sound produced we retuned the radio channels to pure static as we felt the sound was more distinct and foreign to the space. Previously we performed with the radios tuned to various radio stations however the sounds were a distraction during the performance for both the audience and the performer. The sound was infrequent and inconsistent.

The live performance made us realize the importance of creating a sense of connectivity with the audience as we see them as the final component in our technological paradigm. We felt that Seidah’s performance in the glass-end of the corridor was disconnected from the overall site. It would be more beneficial if the dancers were within view of one another. If these changes were implemented, the spectators in the performance space would be able to fully appreciate the spatial relationship between the two dancers better and as a result, the performance would be more cohesive as a whole.