normcore – measure me
"normcore / measure" me invites the visitors to a futuristic laboratory whose main substances are biofidelic dummies. Their construction-style creates an authentic physical expression which, by staging it, introduces a mental, fumbling body experience.
Two dummies were selected after high-speed crash-tests. Therefore, they have traces of this action - the moment the body is modified. The traces are referencing this moment, bringing a temporality into the objects. Partly fragmented, the pieces spread around the exhibition space, in whose center a construction is located, evoking associations between protection and exploration.
In their dissection they question topics which are inscribed in their constructed material as an innovative high tech product of science. These range from the numeric transmission of the human body, our physical dependence on technology onto the question of anticipated body images and gender. A water-system constructed into the ceiling let’s water-drops fall on the dummies hand. The sound is amplified and live transposed three octaves down to create a corporal rhythm played back with a stereo-subwoofer-system.
The installation Normcore / Measure Me was developed in close collaboration to “CTS - Crash Test Servie GmbH” the company which developes builds and tests the biofidelic dummy PRIMUS since 2017 in cooperation with HTW Dresden and the TU Berlin.
A biofidelic dummy is a complete reconstruction of average human (male) bodies. They contain bones, tissue, discs and tendons with the characteristics of our body-material. Because of its purpose to reconstruct phenomena depending on our body, the dummy as a tool becomes a sculpture with authentic physical expression, similar to antique sculptures of stone, formed into human bodies suggesting a posture.
Biometric face recognition is a technical way to recognize a person‘s identity. The face is suitable for this purpose, because it has enough unique biometric characteristics. Not only artificial intelligence, also we as humans identify each other by our faces. The face of a dummy, usually made out of latex, is taken off and placed on a hold system. It is spotlighted slightly so that the recipient is seeing their own shadowed face next to the one of the dummy.
„Shock Mount“ a steel construction recreated after a mechanism used in audio-recordings, isolating the microphone from the vibrations of the room. Scaled to human size a construction inspired by Fixateur Externe, a normed holding-system normally adapted to the individual bone, is holding a lymph drainage suite - full body pressure. In general compression on the body can support the process of sensory integration. Perceptual disorders can be alleviated by even pressure causing the brain to rest, similar to a firm hug.
A video positioned inside this construction is playing a video-loop, showing my naked body sleeping on one of the dummies.
The installation normcore/measure me was developed for my graduation-show at Kunstakademie Düsseldorf Room 012, Klasse Prof. Schneider
06 – 10.7.2022
PRIMUS-breakable biofidelic dummy, dummy‘s latex face, polished alumnium pipes, selfmade alumnium-connectors, steel, LED-Light, lymphdrainage-suit, CS-Taft curtain, hydrophone, stereo-subwoofer system, water, intravenous bag, PVC-aquaristic-hose, aquaristic water manifold, laptop, tablet, 95% tinting foil
in cooperation with CTS (crashtest-service.com GmbH)
photos by Kai Werner Schmidt
special thanks to:
Dr. Mirko Dobberstein, Tassilo Lantermann, George Popov, Sabrina Podemski, Emil Walde, Mona Schulzek
© Moritz Riesenbeck, 2024, privacy policy, no liabilty for content of linked sites
© Moritz Riesenbeck, 2024, privacy policy, no liabilty for content of linked sites