INTERFEAR

What if we could dance with the electromagnetic radiation that's around us? Through custom software, the performance sonifies and "dancifies" the very real electromagnetic wave fields.

Using non-traditional sensing techniques (electromagnetic radiation, LIDAR) we intend to capture the in-between space during a performance, sensing the fields around and between dancers as they are performing. The results will be visualised, sonified, and made tangible through haptics.

The project is developed in collaboration with notthecenter, a group of four artists creating time based work through the mediums of sound and movement:

• Myrthe Bokelmann — dancer, performer
• Roma Gavryliuk — sound artist, performer
• Leonie Strecker — sound artist, performer
• Cèlia Tort Pujol — oboist, performer

This project uses an electronic device to measure disturbances in the electromagnetic field caused by performers moving through the room. Through custom software, these disturbances are recorded and converted into immersive sounds that allow the performers to react to them. By making the electromagnetic waves audible we map the invisible force and turn it into an audible and visual one. This map sounds different in every space because it is influenced by every factor in the room - from the construction of the room itself, to the amount of people moving in the space to the movement that is happening beyond the walls of the space. The audience and the way they move around in the space therefore plays an important role in the outcome of the performance.

During the performance we manifest as a human antenna, mapping the invisible digital space through sound, light and physical markings. Referring to Slavoj Zizek’s notion of nature, we want to understand how we can coexist with a nature that has been interfered with by human beings so much that interference has now become a geological force and therefore a part of nature. The physical mapping of the room documents the peaks and valleys of where the body blocks the electromagnetic waves. Ultimately we are contemplating what the accumulated and unexpected effects of our human presence are, and how “nature”, man-made and not man-made, responds.

The project is under development. We did two working sessions, one in Antwerp and one in Vienna in 2023. In 2024 we will do residencies at ON_OFF_SPACE in deSingel (Antwerp) and Het Bos (Antwerp).

This ongoing exploration challenges our understanding of nature and technology, evolving with each performance to deepen our engagement with the unseen waves around us.