Cyborg body

Photo Credit: Matthew Syres 

I was reminded of William Forsythe’s more sophisticated participatory work seen in Berlin, 2005 where “You made me a monster” involved a hanging cardboard anatomical assemblage and the tracing of the moving shadows. Like Forsythe, Joshua Pether evoked a sense of memorial and an energetic ritual dispersal of grief. - Real Time 

Cyborg Body was an invitation by Critical Path to be part of the Interchange Festival. Unable to physically attend, construction of my body was made with various natural objects, man made objects and synthetic materials. Facilitated by Julie Vulcan, participants were given a set of instructions as to how to construct the body and stimulus material as to the identity of this body. X-rays of my back (shown on a computer screen) after a scoliosis operation and a sampled sound scape of various TV show jingles and notable moments, pop songs and white noise were also used as part of this participatory installation. Participants were instructed that once the sound scape was activated this could not be turned off and would have to play to the end. 

Cyborg Body was an extension of my work during my Critical Path residency Body as Material (BAM) and revealed how without being present in a space, bodies can be constructed through collective and individual thought.

Credits

Lead Artist: Joshua Pether 

Co-Creator and facilitator: Julie Vulcan

Presentation History: Critical Path's Interchange  Festival 2017 -Sydney (NSW) 

Review

https://www.realtime.org.au/interchange-festival-the-start-and-the-end-of-the-body/