.living with your own ideas
one day, one brief, one prosthesis.
in this course held by Saúl Baeza we explored different visions and works about perceiving and being perceived.
.01 to become something else
On the first day, Saúl showed us his work with prostheses. I really enjoyed how he presented prostheses as objects (and much more) of resistance and protest.
It opened up a lot of questions for me: What is a prosthesis? Is my phone a prosthesis of my body? Am I a prosthesis of the world?
Then we had a lecture by Manel de Aguas, a cyborg with weather sensory fins in his head.
We also read the article “The Fetishization of ‘Natural’ is Old News with Dr. Naomi” by Vision By and discussed it together.
.01 prototype
For my prototype, I explored how our brain instantly understands other people’s faces.
I wanted to question this instinctive perception. What about a prosthesis that slows down that first impression?
I sculpted clay on my face, masking features that define gender.
Then I tried TouchDesigner for the first time, using real-time webcam to pixelate my face.
I aimed to make my face reappear slowly, but I couldn’t finish the effect. Still, the concept was there.
.02 to become something else
On the second day we had a lecture by Thomas Thwaites. His “GoatMan” project truly inspired me.
We also read a part of The Companion Species Manifesto by Donna Haraway.
.02 prototype
I've always dreamed of being a lichen. I started researching and found the article On Becoming a Lichen, and the beautiful poem Lichen Song by Arthur Sze.
— Snow in the air you’ve seen a crust on the ceiling wood... (poem continues)
...you sliver if you just go go go
...because you are blink about to leave —
My prototype was a forehead camera to capture and connect with lichens.
I used TouchDesigner again to try real-time recognition of lichens.
.03 detective and subject
On the last day, the brief was about surveillance and judgment. We read "The Detective" by Sophie Calle.
The day was split: 45 minutes to build a prototype, then act as detective and subject.
Here's my prototype:
You can check my notes here (PDF).
reflections
This week pushed me to reflect on my approach and timing. I used to think digital research was a waste of time.
But now I see that diving into conceptual and speculative space is also a powerful practice.
All three prostheses have something in common: slowing down perception and observing the non-human.
Seeing all the projects together at the end of the week was amazing.
