Access to the soma

2021

Digitized film photographs, single-channel video projection, live performance, analog camera

數碼化底片照片、單頻錄像投影、現場行為、類比式相機

Access to the soma is a performative proposition interacting between the artist and an analogue camera. A way of revealing the relationship of performative art and documentary,  to open up and rethink this parallel connection and correlation. The photographer is also a performer being photographed; performing alongside the camera, body autonomous and react according to the mechanism of camera and chemical of film to reach the result similar to a photographic technique “chronophotography’ which should be performed by electronic devices. It encourages the spectator to enfold their body, blurring the boundary between live performance and media, as a way of presenting the post-dualism in the middle and late 21st century, adopting technology to expand the notion of the human being.

To reveal the mutual responsiveness between the individual body and technology in the digital age -- memory and sight of mankind can be extended by new media gadgets. Photography is no longer only documentation for the performance, the awareness shifted along with breathing, blood flow and cell cycle. To show the different states of existence,  Access to the soma captures and documents its process through selfie, compressing a duration of performance into flatten-negative-film; which is also an approach to connect psyche and soma (mind and the body) through breath-hold increased the awareness of body, self counting to connect with the camera mechanism. The artwork exhibition is for longer than a month, every week the artist (performer/photographer) is in-situ,  performing and photo shooting on-site, and specifically evolute along with the period of the exhibition.

Access to the soma 通過藝術家的展演及類比式相機之間的互動，以打開和重新思考這種平行的聯繫和關聯。展示藝術家同屬拍攝者及被拍攝者的兩種身份，身體自主的並且根據相機的機械特性和膠片的化學反應作出身體反應，以達到類似於應該由電子設備執行的攝影技術「計時攝影」的結果。鼓勵觀眾拓展身體，並思考現場和媒體之間逐漸模糊的界線，作為呈現21世紀中後期的後二元主義的一種方式。當藝術家與相機同被展示，作品嘗試以科技連結身體，並擴展了「人類」的概念。

在數碼時代，記錄的工具可延伸人類的記憶和視覺——攝影不再是為記錄行為而存在；而個體的意識亦可轉移至不同媒介，有如一呼一吸、血液流動和細胞週期。為了展示不同的存在狀態，Access to the soma將藝術家伸展的運動與過程以自拍方式記錄，將表演的持續時間壓縮成扁平負片；也是通過屏住呼吸來提升對身體的敏感度以致連接 psyche 和 soma（心靈和身體）的可見方法，及自我計時以連接相機的機制，從而探索人體與科技的相互關係。藝術展為期一個多月，藝術家（表演者/攝影師）每週都是 in-situ，進行現場行為和拍照，作品因此隨著展覽的時間而演變。