(AB)USE ME: A Mixed Reality Performance Installation Exploring Use of the Body as a Mediating Object

Abstract

Performance art has long been used as a means for challenging various social constructs, such as ethics and personhood, and sometimes in ways which from the outside can appear traumatic for the performer -perhaps the most famous example being Marina Abramović's Rhythm 0 (1974). Moreover, the nature of such constructs and our experiences when they are challenged have become arguably more complex with the digital world and the ever increasing amount of our lives spent in virtual environments. In this paper, we present a mixed reality performance installation inspired by Rhythm 0 in which the subjective experiences of both a human performer, used as an interface for mediating visual and aural outcomes in this space, and the participants interacting with the body of this performer, are gathered through a shared narrative interview following six separate performances. We evaluated the experiences of both the performer and participants through a qualitative analysis centered around the specific words and statements used with respect to performing objecthood from the perspective of the performer and cognitive absorption from the perspective of the participants. Our analysis is supplemented by methods used in information retrieval for assessing the amount of similarity in the respective transcripts of the performer's and participants' interviews.