Sonic prosthetics: Exploring posthuman personal space in digital performance
Daniël Ploeger · International Journal of Performance Arts and Digital Media · 2011
ABSTRACTThis article focuses on the use of biosignal sensors and sound in digital performance. It gives an account of theoretical and practical aspects of my performance project SUIT, which encompasses a series of performances with a PVC performance overall equipped with humidity and Doppler heart sensors and a loudspeaker. Building on theories in posthumanism and proxemics, I propose a new approach to the spatial distribution of sound that is generated using biosignal data. Conceptualizing the sound and its technology as a posthuman prosthetic extension of the body, I suggest that spectators' experience of proximity to a sonically prosthetisized performer may be influenced by applying different methods of sound spatialization. I explore this approach in a performance experiment that forms part of SUIT.