Cell Space: Augmented Awareness of Intercorporeality

Cell Space is an interactive art experience that integrates collocated augmented reality, neurofeedback, and contact improvisation, challenging the conventional boundaries between audience and performer, and blending the physical with the virtual, organic with technological. Inspired by McLuhan's concept of media as an extension of the human body, and The AR Art Manifesto's vision of "we becoming the Media," this project reimagines participants as dynamic cells of a shared bio-digital ecosystem within the built environment. This immersive experience expands the concept of intercorporeality, moving beyond mere physical interaction to a shared bio-digital domain, thereby fostering a deeply interconnected environment of Human-Machine-Space Symbiosis. The paper contributes to the discourse on performing arts by presenting a new paradigm for applying AR and neurofeedback in contact improvisation, creating a new layer of perception and fostering intercorporeal interactions by reinforcing both individual and collaborative intentionality of its participants. Ultimately, Cell Space serves as a reflective mirror to the potential futures of our increasingly interconnected existence, encouraging participants to explore a transformative landscape that resonates with the complex interplay between their physical and digital identities and their surroundings.