Vast Body is a collaborative experiment on movement. In front of a camera, different people were invited to imagine and embody a wide spectrum of postures that the system can perceive and understand. In the installation, a myriad of alter egos continuously try to replicate the movements of the person facing it. Interpreting your behavior, the software distills this continually changing input into a projection of a body that moves fluidly with yours, yet fluctuates continuously between different bodies and identities. The experience is a playful, visually arresting act of imagination. Through some kind of magic mirror, it connects the physical body with a digital incarnation, offering the chance to briefly inhabit another through movement. The work draws on timely questions of identity, empathy and our relationship with other-than-human intelligences.

In this Lunchtime Talk, Vincent Morisset, Co-Director and Founder of AATOAA ("yours") will take the opportunity to share their experimentation with choreographers and machines, prior to presenting Vast Body at Undershed. Vast Body, made in 2018, was the beginning of the democratisation of machine learning and computer vision, allowing us to revisit the perspectives on human bodies and movements. Vincent will also share more about AATOAA, some of their interactive and participative work for the last two decades, and will also talk about other favourite projects - some old, some new, all very different.

Join us online on YouTube Live, or in the building on Friday 25th October 2024 at 1pm for the talk and to take part in the Q and A discussion afterwards. 

The Pervasive Media Studio is a partnership between the Watershed, University of the West of England and University of Bristol. The lunchtime talks are partly supported by MyWorld, a project led by the University of Bristol to support creative industries in the region. Watershed is supported by Arts Council England.

Address:
Watershed, 1 Canon's Rd, Bristol BS1 5TX

Directions:
The Lunchtime talks take place in the Pervasive Media Studio Event Space. To access the Studio, please go to the Main Watershed Box Office entrance and go upstairs to the Café Bar. Walk across the cafe bar, turn right and walk towards the double doors. Go through into the corridor and walk all the way down until you reach the Studio. A member of staff will sign you in, and check your ticket, if you have booked.

The Studio is wheelchair accessible, and the events space has a hearing loop. The last talk of every month is BSL interpreted. 

For more information on accessing the studio take a look here.

*Please note this is a hybrid event and will be live streamed so please be aware you will be in the live broadcast and recording when watching in the Studio.