Schoell - Questions To Self-Perception - Radiance

Clemens Schöll

Questions To Self-Perception, 2017

VR experience for HTC Vive

We have mirrors and photographs, but our self-perception is trapped

within the mediality of the 'Abbildung' (image/reproduction).

With Virtual Reality this can be overcome, since vision is detached

from the own body. Does this also detach and dissolve self-perception

as known until today? Can we speculate this as a first step towards

trans-humanism by distancing mind from body?

It isn't. We recognize ourselves with even low-resolution, square-y,

hollow representations of ourselves. But we don't associate with the

body, can't move naturally, are awkwardly lost in overlapping physical

and virtual spaces. The movement of the own body, the movement of

others entering the light cube (a physical take on the chaperone

usually used in VR to remind users of the physical limits) and the

movement of the virtual camera are quite overwhelming.

But the overlapping spaces, virtual reality and light installation,

yield yet another space: a performance stage. The person, looking at

themselve, is involuntarily performing for the by-standers, which in

turn naturally respect the light cubes space as a stage — or explicitly

decide to trespass and interact with the "performer", allowing play and

exploration.

Credits:

Multi-camera aggregation and networking facilitated by: LiveScan3D

Thanks to: Leon Galli, Ortrun Bargholz, Leon Naffin

This work "Fragen zur Selbstwahrnehmung" (English Translation: Questions To Self-Perception) was developed as part of the THIS IS FAKE exhibition at Schacht Dölitz (former underground mine for brown coal) in Leipzig in 2017. Four site specific VR experiences were displayed in the loading bay of a shut down coal mine which is now being transformed into a place for art and cultural projects by its owners.

All pieces of the exhibition:

Yannick Harter, Fragments of a Hologram Rose, 2017

Fabian Lehmann & Filip Krause, Steiger, 2017

Clemens Schöll, On The Allegedly Last Piece Of Lignite, 2017

Clemens Schöll, Questions To Self-Perception, 2017

IMAGES

VIDEO LINK (no audio)

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Clemens Schöll questions the current relationship between technology and society. His work implies different formats of video, performance, net art and (virtual reality) installations. By aestheticizing complex phenomena inherent to a technological status quo or development, he generates new approaches to presumably inaccessible areas.

Schöll (b. 1994) is currently studying media art at the HGB Leipzig. Prior to that, he attended various art courses at the UdK Berlin and the FBAUL in Lisbon. He also holds a degree in computer science from the TU Berlin.

He has recently participated in shows at New Budapest Gallery, HGB Galerie Leipzig, and Kunstpunkt Berlin, among others. He lives and works in Leipzig and Berlin and is part of the media art collective THIS IS FAKE.

Project website: https://bericht.neopostmodern.com/portfolio/fragen-zur-selbstwahrnehmung

Portfolio: https://bericht.neopostmodern.com/portfolio

Website: http://neopostmodern.com/

Collective Website: http://thisisfake.team/

If you are interested in exhibiting or viewing this artistic VR experience, please send an email to us.