This project is integrated with the artistic research project Simultaneous Arrivals, FWF AR 714-G.
A shape is said to be enantiomorph if it cannot be made congruent with its mirror image. Many of the human organs exhibit this property, such as the hands or the ears. These variations are called fluctuating asymmetries. In this work two/three participants become enantiomorph of each other, exchanging visual and auditory modalities by cross-wiring senses. This coalescence of these sensory inputs questions perceptions of self and space.
Human organs are often in dual (two ears, two eyes, two hands, …), but in fact we both operate and appear quite asymmetrical. Humans are also very adaptive, and the “loss” or partial loss of one sense is compensated for. One inspiration for the piece was the work “At the Massage Table” by Seppo Gründler, in which one lies down and watches two distinct videos through VR goggles with the mind constantly trying to merge the two images into one.
What we are interested in is not to submerge a subject in an artificial or “virtual” reality, but precisely to keep them connected both with their physical surroundings and with fellow human beings. It’s an opportunity to experience the gap from “unmediated” to mediated sensations, and to share an experience with others, to yield control to other persons participating in the situation.