Complessita? – A Human At The Mercy Of An Algorithm from Enrica Be on Vimeo.

Complessità (/komplessi'ta/ Italian, Complexity) is a performance that is a journey into the beauty of complexity and our role within it. The performer is at the mercy of an algorithm thanks to a wearable device that affects his movements by modifying his equilibrioception (sense of balance) according to the movements of an algorithm that visually simulates a flock of birds.
Complessità is an innovative Interactive Dance Performance that inverts the traditional human-machine relation: the human loses ownership of its movements and we enter a new dimension where the machine computes the moving human body. The interaction between human and machine loses its unilaterality and becomes (finally) mutual. With this installation I want to raise awareness of the possible role of technology in modifying, altering and conditioning our behavior on a physical level.
3D-GIf-Tony
This project aims to show the beauty of complexity by letting the spectator explore the relation between singularity and collectivity, individuality and community, the part and the whole. The human figure and body movements are explored through a transposition from virtual to biological.  Singularity and collectivity operate across both biological and computational contexts creating a visible manipulation of corporeal relation human-technology. 
Tribeca 3 LowFlocking Algorithm 2
Why a flock of birds? This algorithm simulates the behavior of a flock of birds. Flocking behavior is exhibited when a group of birds, called a flock, are foraging or in flight. This pattern parallels the shoaling behavior of fish, the swarming behavior of insects, and herd behavior of land animals. In studying flocking behavior, it becomes clear there is no central control; each bird behaves autonomously. In other words, each bird has to decide for itself which flocks to consider as its environment and looks to the behavior of its fellow birds to determine its own. Humans are animals, too - collective animals at that. We flock. We look at the behaviors of others before acting ourselves and rely on the group when we don't know what to do. However, due to the expansive scale of humanity, this result is not at the forefront of our consciousness. As a result, we as human beings are incapable of perceiving society as the sum of all behaviors as opposed to the actions of us as individuals. As Aristoteles said, “the whole is bigger than the sum of its parts” an idea that encapsulates how humans are limited and extremely self-destructive. In this concept you can find the heat of this project - making complexity readable and understandable. Understanding complexity means understanding life as a whole and our role within it. 

Click here for other experiments on complex systems and human behaviors.
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The performer is being connected to the flocking algorithm through a Galvanic Vestibular Stimulator (GVS). The flock direction is transposed to the performer through two electrodes positioned on the back of each ear. The electrostimulation of the inner ear causes an involuntary and immediate modification of the body direction by stimulating a specific nerve that maintains balance. This technology has been investigated for both military and commercial purposes but I want to explore its effect on performing arts as a new typology and most of all to stimulate a discussion on human-computer interaction. The result of this electrostimulation of the inner ear is painless but dramatic.
Complessita_with darknessPrintTony-Gif-Idaco-fasterPrintTony_Inner Ear
ComplexityComplexity is what govern us and our behavior, but its intangible characteristics make it very hard for us to understand and perceive that we are part of a whole and that there is a complex continuity of human nature with the natural world. We tend to live and see life through a micro-scale without considering the impact of our behavior on a bigger scale, which is what influences our lives.In this performance the relation between individual and collectivity, the part and the whole, gains a legible scale: we are nothingness at the mercy of complexity. 

Complessità, in collaboration with Roula Gholmieh, will be the closing act of the 2016 TFI Playground exhibit at the Tribeca Film Festival, April 16.
CREDITS: Aisen Caro Chachin, technical support and GVS board design / Paolo di Prodi, technical support – Mentoring on the GVS/ Peter Hartman, technical support – my first tester and collaborator/ Tony Bordonaro, Performer/ Joe Saavedra, advisor and tech support/ John Sharp and Melanie Crean, advisors
Original Sound by J.Thatcher May
Photography by Daniel Mastretta

press:

The Coolest Technology at the Tribeca Film Festival -
://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/274190
Complessità - A Human At The Mercy Of Complexity
http://www.iitaly.org/node/41106

Men's View: "Najciekawsze przyk?ady wykorzystania technologii na Tribeca Film Festival"http://www.mensview.pl/2016/04/najciekawsze-przyklady-wykorzystania-technologii-tribeca-film-festival/
Complessità - A Human At The Mercy Of Complexity
http://loves.domusweb.it/complessita-a-human-at-the-mercy-of-complexity/