Deity

‘Deity’ combines live motion capture with physical movement, inviting the audience to interact with a virtual avatar. Imagined as a shrine to the digital self, the installation replicates the multi-angle surround of a vanity mirror, surrounded by winding tentacle-like sculptures.

The screens show an inky black liquid, akin to the ‘black mirror’ of the screens we constantly use in contemporary life: the dark, reflective surface that we are left with when our phones or tablets aren’t activated. Reacting to the audience’s movement -captured via an XBox Kinect camera- the avatar in turn submerges and emerges from the liquid. This repetitive engulfing of the body explores our deep connections to our virtual selves, whilst referencing obsidian mirrors, often used in shamanism to create portals into other dimensions. The mirror acts as a space for ritual and spirituality, evoking a simultaneous opportunity for worship and the observation of our digital reflection.

As the digital avatar attempts to keep up with the complex, unpredictable movements of its human audience, the imprecision of their movement demonstrates the fragmented relationship between the digital and the physical, pulling them apart to expose the disconnect between the two realities.