On February 20, 2010 Adzel Slade/Micha Cardenas and ecolalia Azalee/Elle Mehrmand presented technésexual - a hybrid reality performance - simultaneously at East of Odyssey and at the LACE's (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) GUTTED event, curated by Dino Dinco. I had the pleasure of documenting this event from Second Life. Azdel and echolalia are working with ideas here that I also wish to explore - especially the interfacing/connecting of the avatar and the human body via various sensors and and devices - read more about technésexual below. This video documents the Second Life component with sound coming from Real Life via SL's voice interface. Most recently this video was screened at the University of California, San Diego's Open Studios 2010. See: http://ucsdopenstudios.com/2010/
About technésexual (from www.transreal.org) "In technésexual the performers commit playful erotic acts in physical and virtual space simultaneously, using devices to amplify the sound of their heartbeats for the two audiences. An electrocardiogram was used to monitor the heart rate with an Arduino/Freeduino, playing a recording of the heartbeat at the correct rate using Puredata. Temperature sensors modulate the audio based on touch. DIY biometrics are used to bridge realities with audio, finding ways of exploring the space between realities.
technésexual opens discussion on the multitude of sexualities outside of the restrictive LGBT formulation and homo/hetero categories, which are rooted in binary gender assumptions. The mixing of realities in this project can be seen as paralleling our own experiences mixing genders and sexualities, queering new media. Virtual worlds such as Second Life facilitate the development of new identities, allowing for unimagined relations and relationships. technésexual looks closely at these new relationships, how they affect our everyday lives and horizons of possibility." See also: http://www.transreal.org http://bang.calit2.net/elle http://www.flickr.com/photos/lotu5/se... http://odysseysimulator.blogspot.com
On Valentines Day, 2010, the artist known as Wirxli Flimflam publicly took his own avatar's life over his unrequited love for the artist known as SaveMe Oh. This machinima documents the sad event. To find out more see Wirlxi Flimflam's Memorial Blog: http://www.wirxliflimflam.blogspot.com And SaveMe Oh's Blog: http://www.savemeoh.wordpress.com
