Expanding the Body through Technology: Questioning the Future of Human Physicality in the Real and Virtual World
The exhibition showcases MPLUSPLUS’s latest endeavor: a performance featuring robots that go beyond the human.
From Saturday, September 16 to Sunday, November 19, 2023, Civic Creative Base Tokyo hosts Embodiment++, an exhibition of the work of MPLUSPLUS, a crew of stage technologists known for its performances using sound, video, and light. The exhibition showcases MPLUSPLUS’s latest endeavor: a performance featuring robots that go beyond the human. In addition, the exhibition provides the first comprehensive overview of the products MPLUSPLUS has developed to date. Researchers and artists also give talks about how technology is expanding and enhancing the human body.
[Outline]
Expanding the Body through Technology:
Questioning the Future of Human Physicality in the Real and Virtual World
Will we be able to accept and go beyond the physicality that robots and technology are set to usher in?
At a time when developments like AI are augmenting humans, this work presents a whole new kind of technologized physicality.
▶︎ The exhibition showcases MPLUSPLUS’s latest endeavor: a performance featuring robots that go beyond the human
With a background as a dancer, MPLUSPLUS CEO Fujimoto Minoru pursued research into wearable computing and received a PhD in engineering. Following a stint as a university educator, he launched MPLUSPLUS to develop original LED devices. Fujimoto has attempted to update the human body through stage performances and other projects. As a further means of engaging with this aspiration, the new work presented at the exhibition is an installation featuring robots that transcend human ability.
Exhibited Works:
“Unknown RhythmsーHumanized Clock” (new work)
“Morphing Elegance ーRobotic Choreographer” (2018 / 2023)
“Vitality of LightーLight-emitting Existence” (new work)
▶︎ Comprehensive Showcase of a Decade of MPLUSPLUS Products
MPLUSPLUS is known for its LEDs staging for performances by music groups like EXILE and AKB48, and for its appearance on America’s Got Talent. The members of MPLUSPLUS have developed many products and systems for use as tools for dancers, musicians, and other performers, fusing art and technology to pioneer a form of Gesamtkunstwerk or “total artwork.” The exhibition offers the first ever comprehensive showcase of around ten types of products that MPLUSPLUS has developed to date. Some of the exhibits are interactive.
▶︎ Events Exploring Various Research Fields and Cultural Scenes
The exhibition includes talks and workshops featuring human augmentation engineers and artists active in the fields of media art, design, dance, and more. The program of events takes an overview of various research fields and cultural scenes, from information somatics to media art, dance, and music.
