Identity Borderlands: How Shifting Attentions, Movements, and Control Systems Contribute to Dynamic Agencies in Human-Machine Improvisation Systems—Three Case Studies
In this presentation, Chua explores the delicate interplay between human performers and improvisation machines, and how specific constellations of attention, physical movement, and systems of control influence the perception of identities and agencies in collaborative improvisation settings.
The first case study examines how attention shifts within the borderlands of ‘text’ and ‘texture’ as a form of machine representation in the work persistence machine for AIYA improvisation machine and midi keyboard/controller performer (Maryam Mehraban). How do shifting visual representations of the machine, from legible text to illegible pixels, influence human attention, musical interactivity, and the cognitive perception of the improvisation machine’s identity?
The second case study focuses on music as an embodied language, “a means of coordination based on the sense of joint agency induced by the motor actions evoked by sounds.” At the center of this case study is a reflection of the most recent performances from the quartet constellation of two improvisation machines and human performers (STUDIO ZYKLOS; Melody Chua, Chi Him Chik, AIYA, Aiii) and how the performances create a dynamic ecosystem of four intertwining identities, where physical body movements are used as an additional medium to reinforce or deconstruct sonic identity borders between human and machine.
The final case study examines the specific constellation of flute and improvisation machine: Through an ongoing exchange with Tokyo-based improviser and ‘modular flute’ performer, MIYA, Chua investigates Wen and Imamizu’s assertion that "the sense of agency refers to the subjective feeling of controlling one's own actions, and through them, external events" and how this applies to improvised performance with machines. This case study examines the navigation of control systems within both Chua and MIYA’s flute-electronic practices and how these influence the shifting perception of the machine’s agency in the performance.
Nevertheless, improvisation goes beyond control structures and into navigating the complexity and combinations of different affordances enacted by humans and machines.
These three case studies aim to reveal how navigating the dynamic states of attention, physical movement, and control systems within the human-machine improvisation environment can facilitate a better understanding of how perceptions of human-machine identity and agency are formed.
Melody Chua
Composition
Melody Chua is a performer and transdisciplinary artist researching the relationality between improvisation machines and human performers. As an arts x technology polymath, she programs and designs her own improvisation machine systems comprising of sensors and AI processes that facilitate interaction across the mediums of sound, light, and visual projections. As an artistic researcher, her methods and output manifest primarily in performances and compositions with improvisation machines, in addition to collective collaborations in interactive installation settings.
She views her artistic practice of developing and performing with improvisation machines as a way to confront questions of hierarchy, identity, and agency among the traditionally ‘othered’ in improvisation settings. “How can one balance the presence of the machine with the traditionally dominant human presence? In what ways can software take on a visual and physical form to challenge normative hierarchies of human-machine interaction and identity? How do we navigate the delicate borderlands where we are not only sovereign entities but also vulnerable extensions of each other’s expressions?” She approaches these questions personally—as someone who often finds herself in minority positions—and believes that the tension of holding the ‘othered’ position is critical to sustaining necessary, pluralistic exchange.
Considered a “pioneer in the development of interdisciplinary performances with new technologies” (ZHdK Jahresbericht 2021), Chua mediates her work across both institutional and underground scenes. Her work and performances span collaborations with artists in the fields of dance, fine arts, light design, and illustration, and have been seen at the following places: the New Interfaces for Music Expression Conference (CHN), Zentrum für Kunst und Medien (DE), Zürich Design Biennale (CH), Geneva International Film Festival (CH), Radius Center for Contemporary Art and Ecology (NL), Network Music Festival, Immerse: Creative City Project (USA), Digital Festival Zürich (CH), Kultur Keller Stuttgart (DE), Kein Museum (CH), trxter Berlin (DE), Contemporary Art and Music Project Festival (USA), Klein Theater Luzern (CH), M4 Music Festival (CH), among others.
As a conscious educator and mediator, Chua has lectured at institutions such as the University of Chicago (USA), University of the Arts Bern (CH), University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart (DE), Zürich University of the Arts (CH), and the Atlantic Music Festival (USA), among others. She received a Fulbright-Swiss Government Excellence award for her research and development of a sensor-augmented flute at the Institute for Computer Music and Sound Technology in Zürich (CH).
Chua holds a Master of Arts in Flute Performance (Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) with concentrations in sensor-augmented instrument research and electroacoustic composition), Master of Arts in Transdisciplinary Studies (ZHdK), Bachelor of Music in Flute Performance (University of Illinois (UIUC)), and Bachelor of Arts in Music Technology (UIUC), graduating summa cum laude across all degrees. Chua is currently a doctoral candidate at the Kunstuniversität Graz and in residence at the ZHdK Immersive Arts Space.