(Im)possible bodies: responsiblity and care in our cyborg future

What does it mean to become a cyborg? Better yet, aren't we cyborgs already? What then, does it mean to have a body? Is a 'standard' desirable, what does that even mean, and what are the alternatives? Many of these questions (and way more) will be presented to you at (IM)POSSIBLE BODIES, an interactive virtual experience about cyborgs, data and artificial intelligence.

Needless to say (IM)POSSIBLE BODIES is a hybrid festival. In addition to the screen, physical installations can be found in public spaces in ‘s-Hertogenbosch (NL) from 23 October to 1 November, coinciding with the Den Bosch Data Week. Together with more than 35 participating designers, hackers and artists, (IM)POSSIBLE BODIES researches the question: What kind of cyborgs do we want to become?

Offering a digital journey through augmented realities with (ro)bots, 3D artworks and avatars that meet in a comprehensive, shared and sensory online experiences, visitors enter the online festival using a laptop and an app, bringing works of art to life and ultimately, even becoming part of them. Here are three works you can't miss:

Geumhyung Jeong (KR), Upgrade in Progress, 2020 — Dutch première

Meet a new breed of humanoid remote-controlled mechanical sculptures of Korean artist and choreographer Geumhyung Jeong. In a way, Jeong’s ‘robots’ are disarmingly amateurish, due to their DYI construction with components outsourced from specialist websites, and act unpredictably clumsy due to the limited range of motion the artist has alchemically imbued into them. Transforming robotic scraps through the power of creative imagination, Jeong’s reveals what lies beyond their the deep materiality of these objects: cages in need to regain mortal flesh and control, to which only the artist’s mind holds the key.

Simon Senn (CH), Be Arielle F, 2020

In this digital performance, videographer and visual artist Simon Senn demonstrates the fusing of the digital and physical world. The performance shows the unexpected entanglements between technology, representation, gender and law through a female avatar the artist had bought online. Via Denn's 'new' embodiment, the artist went in search of the woman whose body he was « virtually » inhabiting.

Saint Machine (RO) I, Human, 2019

I, HUMAN is a 'body installation' by Romanian experimental artist Saint Machine, who investigates biological processes and studies the notion of space as a living structure. Her organism-like sculptures emit light, carry a digital core, use the human body to function and question the willingness to cede human physicality and biological needs in exchange for digital content.

(IM)POSSIBLE BODIES takes place (both online as offline) from 23 October to 1 November. Read more.