The role of the body in today’s society has been reduced to fingertips handling a smartphone.

Inspired by the sensation of returning to one’s own body when exiting VR and the fact that people whose memories disappear after 7 seconds are able to drive because of muscle memory, I wondered what the most important part of my being is and where the soul resides, this thought, inspired in part by Maurice Merleau-Ponty’s idea that “the body is a general medium for experiencing the world”, I thought that the body’s memory was important. Therefore, I recorded my daily body movements using 3D scans and motion capture to explore the importance of the body. Not just as an interface for manipulation, but also as something that forms a personal history and identity. And because memory is important in subjectively defining who we are, avatars of our past bodies narrate my memories by playing back text from my diary using a synthetic voice.

Supported by NEW VIEW, Paris 8 Arts et Technologies de l’Image

Mentorship by Naohiro Ukawa