Immersion and Entanglement at the End of the World
In this performative and wide ranging talk, artist Duncan Speakman will explore how immersive and augmented artworks might offer new ways to engage with climate collapse. We are all immersed in physical environments, digital networks, and in social and political constructs; yet, discussion around immersive media is often led by examples of works that cocoon us. Duncan instead argues for work that exposes those relationships rather than separates us from them. Jumping from John Cage’s compositions and experimental theatre, to autoethnographic reflections and an overview of his own recent audio AR piece “Only Expansion”, this talk follows a thread that connects entities of many different scales, and asks if immersion might just mean there is no vantage point.
Duncan Speakman is an artist and composer resident at the Pervasive Media Studio in Bristol. Often working with mobile audio and locative media, he creates narrative experiences that engage audiences emotionally and physically in uncontrolled spaces. From intimate in-ear stories to large scale performances, his award winning projects range from sound installations on Guangzhou tram networks and loudspeaker symphonies in Christchurch, to performative audio walks in Saitama and radio works for the BBC. His current research explores the role of augmented audio in critical ecology, and he continues to wrap his questions in melancholy and romance.
Our lecture series is made possible by generous support from the MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, and MIT Transmedia Storytelling Initiative.
