Projects—Master PPS Performing Public Space

Jun 29

Jun 29 ARTISTIC PROTOCOLS FOR INCREASING DIALOGIC CAPACITY AND INTERACTIONAL GENEROSITY IN DIGITAL SPACE

Class 2019/20

For a researcher using a theoretical framework in which public space is the product of social interactions (Lefebvre, The Production of Space 1991, Castoriades, The Greek Polis 1983), exploring the interactional potential of digital platforms is a key concern in a world spending more and more time online. In terms of reliance on digital space for interaction, this recent pandemic can be seen to have thrown us forward into an accelerated future - one for which we are poorly prepared. Through my research, I aim to bridge the obstacles we currently face in terms of digital interaction, and to discover potential for new forms of interaction that make the most of digital space’s unique properties. To do this, I have observed existing digital platforms, identified limitations on interaction, and designed artistic protocols in an attempt to overcome them. During the course of my research, I encounter Wodiczko’s “community of becoming” (cited in Wilken R, A Community Of Strangers? 2010) and Derrida’s fleshless “touch” (On Touching 2000), renewing my hopes that digital space is not the death of the body, but the potential birthplace of a new potent intimacy of the mind.

SPECIAL THANKS
Thanks to the faculty, my peers (<the DCO’s>) and to my coach Danae for introducing the world of artistic research to me.

Helen Scarlett O'Neill

Helen graduated BA Hons Theatre: Design for Performance from Central St Martin’s College of Art and Design. Unmoved by the conventional theatre experience, she set out to critically examine the nature of performance and seek out a more connective format. In 2010 Helen teamed up with producer Harry Ross to make site-responsive, immersive and participatory work for a variety of companies. They led the design and production of Secret Cinema, mounting 13 large scale productions attended by well over 250,000 people. They worked with the National Trust and The National Archives (England & Wales) to bring to life lost histories from declassified police records using active participation. Helen’s artistic research is centred around the nature of interaction in digital space and she looks to apply her findings to her ongoing participatory practice.

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