The Mirror

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Naotaka Fujii (JP) + GRINDER-MAN + evala (JP)
interactive installation, 2015

What is the self? What is the body?

For the first time in Europe, during Biennale WRO 2017 DRAFT SYSTEMS there will be the presentation of the “The Mirror” installation, an immersive piece based on the latest computer simulation technology, about the relationship between the body and the self, blurring the impression of “here and now”.

The viewer’s seat is fitted with headphones and special glasses with a display. The screen opposite allows him to see his reflection as in the title mirror. After the device is set up, a virtual show begins, in which four different timelines are mixed. Eyes deceive the self, creating an impression of the separation of body and mind and confusion of fiction with reality.

Substitutional Reality (SR) is a system developed by the Adaptive Intelligence Laboratory at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute, completely different from the previously known technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR) or Augmented Reality (AR), whose main task is to reduce the gap between reality and the computer generated world. SR completely blurs this border. The SR system is designed to manipulate the subjective perception of reality through the possibility of experiencing scenes live (in which the audience participated physically), alternately with the shots that have been previously recorded and edited in a way that the discrepancy between them is almost imperceptible.

Launched in 2011 by Naotaka Fujii and a member of the GRINDER-MAN group, Hitoshi Taguchi, a collaborative project developing new forms of interaction, using the RIKEN Brain Science Institute’s SR (Substitutional Reality) system. “The Mirror” is their second collaborative project after ”Mirage” in 2012.

More information: HERE

Naotaka Fujii (JP), born in 1965 in Hiroshima, an ophthalmologist, neuroscientist, entrepreneur and artist. He manages the Adaptation Intelligence Laboratory at the RIKEN Brain Science Institute and serves as the President of the Hacosco Inc., a company that develops the use of virtual reality in mobile devices.

GRINDER-MAN is an artistic group created by Hitoshi Taguchi and the choreographer Makiko Izu. Their aim is to divert the idea of ​​”here and now” by creating a spectacle of carefully planned sensory impressions based on the spontaneity of the reaction. The group carries out projects for museums, theaters and street festivals. Their art escapes generalization, going far beyond the boundaries of art.

evala (JP), born 1976 in Kyoto, a sound artist, pioneer in the field of electronic music, known for designing sound for public space based on topological analysis, and musical setting of spectacles, films and commercials. In 2010 he released a CD entitled “acoustic bend”. He cooperated, among others, with Perfume, ONE OK ROCK and Sakanaction.

The project was realised in cooperation with the NTT InterCommunication Center (ICC).