Collective Body brings us through five key moments symbolizing five stages in our lives that help build who we are: birth, independence, connection, loss leading to self-awareness, and society. In each stage, participants are encouraged to reappropriate simple movements inspired by stages of human development: exploring with our hands, taking our first steps, learning through mimicry, moving from memory and sensation, collective moving and finally dancing. Movements are guided by a narrator's voice, interactive music and visuals, other participants, and the environments themselves.
Meanwhile, participants’ ways of moving (use of their body, use of the space, quality of movement…) are analyzed by the headset. Using machine learning, a generative art system transforms these inputs into an expressive movement identity avatar. Collective Body uses VR to transform our ephemeral movements into a lasting illustration of our movement identity.
Virtually, participants share the experience together. They discover movement alone and then collectively, through individual and then collaborative movement tasks. The uninhibited nature of the headsets allows for happy encounters, unlikely in everyday life and that live on beyond the piece. Inviting the larger public, the animated media wall, co-created by the VR participants and composed of their dancing avatars, invites the public to witness an ongoing collective dance. By the end, participants feel and see themselves differently.
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