Zombie and Cyborg Bodies,
Exoskeleton, Extra-ear and Avatars

Curator's Statement

"A Body Acting Without Expectation producing movements without memory" For Stelarc "we mostly operate as Absent Bodies".That's because "a body is designed to interface with its environment.- its sensors are open-to-the-world (compared to its inadequate internal surveillance system). The body's mobility and navigation in the world require this outward orientation. Its absence is augmented by the fact that the body functions habitually and automatically. Awareness is often that which occures when the body malfunctions". Stelarc's uniqueness as an artist rests mainly on his approach to the redesigning of the body, which is normally the realm of the natural scientist. As human skin is stretched and penetrated by technology it cannot go on being the boundary between the self and what lies outside it, and it cannot any longer suggest that the self is enclosed in it. Stelarc considers skin to be an outmoded interface, and the body profoundly obsolete, unable to come to terms with the complexity of the information surrounding it. Information has invaded the body, which stumbles under its weight, while inhabiting a hostile landscape consisting of bits of information which have not been absorbed. New Body From the image of reality to the structure of reality. The transformation of reality, having accompanied modernism, now becomes the rebuilding of reality. This change, first observed by Neitzsche, came about at the end of the 19th century, as an attempt at expanding the bounds of human physiology. Nietzsche conceived the notion of the Superman, a new image which came about from the conceiving of the will to power. Technology is the product of humanity which enforces our rule over the natural world. In Cartesian thought mind and body are separate. Even now, any form of union between us and mechanical parts is considered problematic and pathological. Stelarc employs the body as a planning tool as well as an artistic object. He links it over with long distances, connecting with other bodies, thus expanding the notion of self. Art is no longer the field of representation, but the field of simulation, which often acts upon the body in harmful ways. Technology can be 'worn', mending faulty functions [prosthetics], while also being a determining aesthetic principle of civilisation. Involuntary Experiences What is most important in works like Fractal Flesh, Ping Body and Stimbod is that Stelarc discusses a reformulation of the notion of intent, which we often associate with movement. Technology is often presented as a vast psychedelic landscape which generates illusions. In a system of Virtual Reality, or a simulating device like Stelarc's Fractal Flesh, it is hard to speak of an illusion. We feel immaterial, but from within a new reality; the whole system depends on the presence of the audience. We are located within the work rather than in front of it. Our distance from the work of art has been done away with. Moreover, interactivity becomes a crucial factor, allowing us to recreate the work continuously, in real time. As developments in technology become more and more unpredictable, we should rather talk about an 'augmented' body, which can function strengthened by the complexity of technology. In a situation where we construct the space, agents function automatically. With Stelarc, the body functions away from any sort of 'metaphysical fog.' In a new operational structure, in which notions of spirit or soul have no meaning, the cyborg is a system which behaves without any sentiment. Melanitis Yiannis, 1999