Mirror, mirror on the wall,
who's the fairest of them all?
2024
Live Performances:
24.05.2024 @BcmA, Berlin
07.09.2024 @Nova Space, Weimar
14.10.2024 @Nova Space, Weimar
'Mirror mirror on the wall, who's the fairest of them all?' sets up a digital 'mirror' and presents a participatory experiment on the viewer's attention span and attraction. What attracts our attention? Is it beauty, relatability, or similarity? Maybe our narcissistic traits seek reflections everywhere. Applying the methods of applications that are designed to keep our attention as long as they can and positioning body-tracking technology both as a performance partner and a surveillance tool, the artist prompts us to reflect on our self-perception through the lens of the AI algorithm's binary detection.
Project Design, Performance: Belcim Yavuz
Documentation: Peechana Chayochaichana, Vivi Morais
Visual Inspiration: Bileam Tschepe, Torin Blankensmith
Special Thanks:
Matthew Lloyd for the inspirational class on manifestos and theoretical inputs,
Dr. Alexander König for his consultancy on TouchDesigner and valuable inputs.
Prof. Ursula Damm for guiding my master thesis journey.
Performance starts when a visitor notices a portrait on the wall, a moving image that is framed and preserved until this date to attract viewers. In the portrait, we see a calm, harmless performer slowly moving. But with the approaching visitor, the performer starts to get almost disturbed, noticeably changing her attitude; maybe screaming, crying, making funny mimics… whatever it needs to be done to attract the attention of the viewers' gaze, maybe even showing the viewers reflection to herself. The performance is activated when someone interacts with the portrait, which is, in fact, the projected video of the performer that is behind a wall or in the next room. In front of the portrait, there will be a camera recording the audience, which allows the performer to watch the audience. At the end, the performer might show her physical body, followed by a small lecture performance.
videos from the performance at Nova Space, Weimar, Documentation: Vivi Morais
