[Digital Performance] Wolf Totem

Recently I have been reading the book Digital Performance especially about virtual body and digital double. So I started thinking about what the experience would be like if my body is controlled by someone others; what if my body is not a human body, but something others, like an animal, let’s say wolf; what if I have double bodies and minds, by this I mean different realities are united in one being. It reminds me of some of the Chinese ethnic sorcery cultures. So I came up with this idea. Another inspiration is a rare genre of Asian dance that I got to know: Myosung (描声 literally translated as “drawing sound” ), which unusually explores the relationship between the human mind, body, and wellbeing. 

I used some semiotical symbols in this piece: Totem, drum, fire, and wolf. The first half shows a person in modern life is suddenly shocked by a wizard’s power and turns into a wolf in another world. The second shows the controlled wizard.

This is my first official Max Msp patch!!

BTW, incidentally, a film with the same name Wolf Totem was recently released in China.