From Narcissus’ reflection in the pond through the navel-gazing selfie, the concepts of self, body image, and self-awareness are in constant flux within human-technology co-evolution. In recent years, the intersection of Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics, and Extended Reality (XR) technologies introduced new dimensions to this evolving process, which questions the boundaries of the physical body and free will, as well as their impact on our identity structures. In this lecture / performance, Daniel Landau will discuss the speculative lab experiment he conducted with Maya Magnat, titled Self Study – Open Lab, that involved the experience of virtual embodiment – extending the boundaries of the body and its physical presence. This performance is being held as part of a series of events organized in conjunction with the exhibition “Stumbling Through the Uncanny Valley: Sculpture and Self in the Age of Computer Generated Imagery”; special thanks to Tamar Ben Knan (costume design), Alexey Antonovski (light design), Shimrit Gil (producer); additional thanks to Dr. Efrat Magidov, Dr. Orly Idan, Kobi Tiberg, Dr. Yulia Golland, Dr. Béatrice Hasler, Bennet Hübbe, Prof. Doron Friedman (academic partners).

The event will be held in Hebrew.

Daniel Landau and Maya Magnat

Self Study – Open Lab, 2019

View of the performance at IDC Herzliya (Israel)

Photo: Daniel Landau