"Kimospheres" are kinetic atmospheres currently explored in installations and performances built by the DAP-Lab ensemble during research on wearable space which emerged in the course of the European "Metabody" project. These kimospheres behave as if they are active living architectural organisms that have an aural, visual, and tactile-sensory quality, with subtly changing states and affordances. They can be worn and breathed, felt and imagined, transported and taken off. Elements and objects from the environment can be passed and shared, some of them emit intimate sounds, they are tactile sonic emanations from the environment. They vibrate in the light of distant voices. Others are constructed as costumes/garments that inspire movement, tactile perception, and new forms of proprioception and kinaesthetic awareness relating to the environment and others. These atmospheres of choreographic and garment design, and the sensory methods involved, are developed by members and associates of the DAP-Lab, directed by Johannes Birringer & Michèle Danjoux.

DAP-Lab invites to:

"Metakimosphere no.4/HorLa"

A round table and immersive exhibition-performance created by DAP-Lab and the Research Cluster on Immersion/Presence

Artaud Performance Centre, Brunel University London UB8 3PH

Saturday, May 27, 2017

Roundtable on 'Immersion/Presence' with Research Presentations: 16:30

Premiere of new installation: 18:30

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Program for the Roundtable:

SCHEDULE: Roundtable/Presentations: "Immersion/Presence"

(Artaud 003) Moderation: Paul Moody

16.30-16.45

Christian Stiegler: "The 360° gaze in media, society and culture"

16.45-17.00

Emma Filtness: "Spectral presences: erasure poetry and haunted texts"

17.00-17.15

Doros Polydorou: "Embodiment in virtual reality – challenges and possibilities"

Coffee break

17.30-17.45

Sara Belle: "Curating the sonorous environment"

17.45-18.00

Claudia Robles: "The usage of biosignals in audiovisual immersive environments"

18.00-18.15

Johannes Birringer: "Somatic gestures in mixed reality/virtual reality immersive choreographies"

18.30

Opening of the Performance-Exhibition: kimosphere no. 4 / Horla at Artaud Theatre - visual documentatipon and credits

See documentary film of the Kimosphere no. 4 performance

Participants:

Johannes Birringer (DAP-Lab); Paul Moody (Film/Media); Emma Filtness (Creative Writing);Doros Polydorou (DAP-Lab/University of Hertfordshire); Sara S. Belle (DAP-Lab); Ashley Rezvani (Games Design); Martina Reynolds (DAP-Lab); Michèle Danjoux (DAP-Lab); Christian Stiegler (Film/Media); Helenna Ren (DAP-Lab), Yoko Ishiguro (DAP-Lab); Claudia Robles Angel (DAP-Lab); Haein Song (DAP-Lab); Francis de Oliveira (University of Hertfordshire); Letitia Liu (University of Hertfordshire);Nik Roan (University of Hertfordshire); Chris Bishop (DAP-Lab); Meghan Horvarth (Film/Media).

Stills from VR and spatial immersion rehearsals, Maria Mitsi and Johannes Birringer [left], Doros Polydorou's demo of abstract VR world design (c) photos DAP-Lab


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See documentary film of the Kimosphere no. 2 performances in Madrid

'Presence/Immersion'

Overview of the Research project:

Research in the cluster group examines ideas of presence and immersion & cross-border narratives in media, society and culture. Research is multisensorial: in keeping with previous immersive installations created by DAP-Lab, these scenographies are now expanded by a collaborative team that encompasses performance artists, film/media artists, writers, sound artists and interaction designers. The work concentrates on the specific moment, in which we are crossing borders – the crucial but yet undefined threshold where our feeling of presence develops and immersion kicks in. From the development of global migration, the notion of ‘being there’ in digitally mediated environments, and the redefinition of embodied experiences in media, performance and design – they all pose fundamental questions of how we construct our identities and sensorial embodiment-experiences as acts of narration, presence and immersion. A main goal is to ultimately develop a scientific body of knowledge (with several activities: network meetings, public impact events, publications) and to create a framework to assist researchers in the development of cross-department research projects as well as implications for teaching activities to investigate the sense of presence and immersion and their relationship to the narrative construction of self and identity.

The aim of ‘Presence/Immersion’ is to address the role and raise awareness of presence and immersion in media, society and culture and to coordinate the convergence of ongoing activities. With new technologies such as Virtual Reality (VR) headsets and ongoing public discussions on cross-border migration, the cluster has the potential to enhance understanding of different social processes and is an important driver for a critical and self-reflective economy and society. Starting September 2016, network activities and cluster rehearsals will create an interdisciplinary and cross-department think-tank which includes a public impact event (kimosphere no.4) in cooperation with the Design and Performance Lab (DAP-Lab) in late May 2017 to present different perspectives, encourage public discussions with workshops in performance, media and design (e.g. VR/immersive performance workshops) and engage with external speakers and audiences.

For a research publication that has already emerged from work created by DAP-Lab, see Johannes Birringer (2017) "Metakimospheres," in Susan Broadhurst and Sara Price, eds., Digital Bodies: Creativity and Technology in the Arts and Humanities , Palgrave Macmillan, pp. 27-48.

Stills from VR rehearsals with Michèle Danjoux [left], Yoko Ishiguro with google drawing tool in VR [right] and Helenna Ren in masked costume [bottom] (c) photos DAP-Lab



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Go to first 2016 rehearsal

(research development for Metakimospheres is part of the EU-funded METABODY project; the installation of kimosphere no. 4/Horla is also funded by the Immersion/Presence Research Cluster at Brunel University, co-initiated by Christian Stiegler, Paul Moody and Johannes Birringer; the participation of Doros Polydorou and his collaborators are courtesy of Doros's association with the DAP-Lab - he is currently program leader of Creative Media and Digital Cultures Programme at the University of Hertfordshire)

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