“Land of Mirrors” is a multi-media performance piece created as part of a graduate Live Performance Design course at the NYU Tandon School of Engineering, taught by Deborah Johnson. It was performed at the 2018 Integrated Digital Media Showcase. The performance was inspired by Jacques Lacan’s Register Theory.

I WORKED ON

Choreography, stage design, video editing, materials research, fabrication, dance performance.

I COLLABORATED WITH

Angela Wang (choreography, dance, stage design), Mateo Hernandez (sound design, animation, fabrication), Mayukh Goswami (animation, stage design).

PART 1: Departure (0-5 min)

The performance begins on the right side of the room, in the corner. The is performer seemingly in complete control of the visuals. The dancer represents a child, who believes that it’s a part of this world and the world is a part of it. Although the visuals seemingly respond to the dancer, in reality they are pre-rendered and the dancer’s movements perfectly synchronized. Little by little, small elements are introduced to show that the performer is not in control. The number of such elements keeps increasing until a reversal takes place: the dancer responds to the visual rather than the other way round. This represents the child’s encounter with the Goddess, a figure both reassuring and terrifying. The Mother transforms from a pure nurturing service provider to an omnipotent Goddess. The child becomes aware of their own weakness and its utter powerlessness.

Tech: MIDI sync to trigger main videos between projectors, Resolume Arena Software, Projector

PART 2: Initiation (5-10 min)

The performance now moves to the center of the room. Here the dialectic is a conversation, almost a fight between the Imaginary and the Symbolic space of a person. The Eye represents Gaze of the Others, the dancer is still the "you." The Ego object which is caught in this back and forth - which is not oppositional like the Id-Ego-Super Ego paradigm - is born and evolves in this segment. The visuals are two classes of elements with sharply different visual aesthetic to represent Imaginary and Symbolic. The visuals will flow out of the eye as a way to represent the feedback loop within the Imaginary-Symbolic space.  

Tech: Reflective & textured materials, flashlight, 3D Projection surface, VJ Effects live

PART 3: CONFRONTATION (5-10 MIN)

The third segment represents the confrontation between the Subject and the Real. It’s convenient when we stay within the bounds of our own Imaginary-Symbolic space, which is essentially our own reality. This involves breakdown of boundaries between the performer and the performance, in effect, forcing this confrontation for both the performer and the audience.

The audience is invited to use different materials and their own phone's flashlights to light the stage. They are now aware of the fact that they are part of the performance. An acrylic cut mirror held by one of the dancers reflects light onto the audience. Projection mapping on the eye is still ongoing. The sound is created live by Mateo from movements in the audience.
 

Tech: Acrylic Mirror, Projector, Reflective materials, VJ Effects live, sound board