Split Body, Synthetic Self: Excess and Emptiness
Stelarc, an internationally renowned artist has interrogated the distinction between the body and the mind through many of his performances. In his work, the body becomes the site of experimentation and expression—a chimera of metal, meat and code. Charting the psychological and physical limitations of the body, he extends the idea of the self through suspensions, implants, and other cyborgian constructs.
In this age of body hacking, gene mapping, organ swapping, face transplants and synthetic skin, he interrogates what it means to be alive and human. When the body is extended through technology, where does agency reside? Is it at all possible to locate the self within the biological body? What does aliveness mean for a body extended by technology? Watch the opening lecture of PSYCHE, where Stelarc pondered upon the mind-body split in a new age of technological interventions.
About the Artist
Stelarc is a performance artist who has visually probed and acoustically amplified his body.
His projects explore alternative anatomical architectures. He has performed with a Third Hand, a Stomach Sculpture, and a 6-legged walking robot. In 2006, an ear was surgically constructed on his arm. In Re-Wired / Re-Mixed (2016), he could only see with the eyes of someone in London, could only hear with the ears of someone in New York, but anyone, anywhere could access his right arm and remotely actuate it. In 2015 he received the Australia Council’s Emerging and Experimental Arts Award. His artwork is represented by Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne.
