skin – pieles que mutan

skin is an audiovisual performance that meditates in the extinction, mutation and adaptation of biodiversity to our human altered ecosystems
digital textures of currently endangered living fauna morph in real time during this live performance

the digital textures are projected over two or three human performers wearing custom-made spike outfits
the outfits follow the aesthetic of the most popular spike virus that terrorizes the human collective mind since 2021
a design that currently terrorizes the global humankind
the performers struggle to move together, breathe (literally) and survive on stage
each of the different performers contribute every time to the choreographic evolution of the free-form contact improvisation performance with their personal style
the personal exploration of movement and dance of every performer that participates in the performance creates a unique flow for every show
their personal exploration of movement controls how the digital projections morph together using a Kinect V2 motion sensor.

this free choreographic improvisation throughout the performance, evolves from a single-celled amoeba form, into bipedal struggling mutated creatures in the end
skin01_axelcuevassantamaria.jpg
the unique mix of digital textures that morph together during the live performance, always creates a different creature
the creatures mutate through different stages of their evolution until they altogether form a new combined species that potentially adapts to the current human-altered ecosystems
skin07_axelcuevassantamaria
the creation of this new creature aims to bring hope to the future of biodiversity and its co-living with humankind

For an immersive 360 video recording of this project please watch the following video:

(you need a virtual reality headset such as Google Cardboard and the vimeo app installed in your Android or iOS smartphone to be able to watch the VR video)

This project is part of the microbial skin series.

A series of contemporary artworks that extend a meditation about our current human relation with flora, fauna, microscopic organisms and ecosystems.

Special thanks to:

Alex Olisewszki

Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design at The Ohio State University

Norah ZShaw and Oded Huberman  (interactive theater design)

The amazing performers:

Sophie Mars performance artist Berlin

Ashlee Daniels Taylor

Mel Mark

Chelsea Varin

Yanniré Gaitán

Carolina Ureta Sánchez 

Cynthia Hamm

Sara Angelus

© Axel Cuevas Santamaría 2023

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Inspirations for this project: