GIF by Milton Riano
VIRTUAL HYPER-NATURALISMS
18th International Images Festival of Manizales
Theme: Digital Humanism
June 10th, 2019
University of Caldas
Manizales, Colombia
Laura Acosta
Milton Riaño
Santiago Tavera
Participants
Carolina Rojas Castro
Sandra Barrera Sanchez
Angee Cordoba Guatavita
Herman Belalcazar Alegria
Juan David Mira Duque
Maria Camila Pastas Riascos
Sergio Restrepo Jaramillo
Juan Sebastian Castaño Garcia
Juan Jose Bañol
Juan Pablo Betancourt Arango
Juan Carlos Cano
Yeison Andres Franco
The workshop Virtual Hyper-naturalisms, invited interdisciplinary artists and researchers to collaborate on a series of 360° video productions during the 18th International Image Festival of Manizales. During this workshop, experiments with Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, interactive motion interfaces and live image alterations, explored notions of expanded bodies as virtual cyborgs. The goal of this workshop is to explore physical and virtual perspectives of embodiment, through the investigation of immersive and interactive multimedia technologies. Participants had the opportunity to play with the idea of expanding the natural and organic attributes of their bodies through the use of digital technologies, as a way to create their own version of a virtual cyborg: a being composed of artificial and human components. Participants explored cross-discipline interactions between bodies, spaces and digital media, as well as the effects these connections have on social and personal processes of identification and representation. This workshop reflected on how digital outlets, such as social media and virtual reality technologies, have the potential to allow bodies to construct their own realities.
Photos x Juan Camilo BetancourtB
During the 1 day workshop participants created fictional narratives that pose a parallel between the digital expansion of a body and the idea of a virtual cyborg. Through this activity, participants assembled new ways to alter their bodies through the use of digital technology, leading to the creation of new and different types of corporealities. During this workshop, experiments with interactive technology raised questions on how the ubiquity of digital media becomes a tool that allows for the expansion of our bodies and how that affects our interactions with ourselves, others and space. The workshop began with a short presentation, in order to introduce the activities and topics that were going to be explored. Following this, in small groups, participants were guided to do a series of creative writing exercises that worked as scripts for the creation of their idea of a virtual cyborg. Throughout the workshop, participants had the opportunity to interact with 3 multimedia stations that were used to create their 360° video productions: 1) VR Station to capture a 360° videos, 2) LIVE CHROMA Station to use a green screen setup and live cameras to record their bodies with live effects, allowing them to distort their image in real time. 3) SOUND Station to experiment with different sounds in order to complement their visual productions. At the end of the workshop, participants had the opportunity to view their creations as a virtual experience with the use of VR headsets.
360° PRODUCTIONS OF VIRTUAL CYBORGS AND SPACES
"Amplifying the senses to
connect with nature "
"Aumentar los sentidos para conectarse con la naturaleza"
"A fluid body branching out in
an infinite space"
"Un cuerpo fluido ramificándose en
un espacio infinito"
"Change of perspective to recover the
ancestral vision of nature"
"Cambio de perspectiva para recuperar la vision ancestral de la naturaleza"
We acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
Nous remercions le Conseil des arts du Canada de son soutien.
