XR Award 2020

Elyne Legarnisson - (Un)Balance

Today, our western world is slowly welcoming the idea that body awareness and body movement play key roles in our physical and emotional healths. However, we increasingly evolve towards spatial contexts and interactions which tend to limit and control our moving bodies while dispersing our attention through constant visual stimuli. Most interactive experiences in VR are no exceptions, as they primarily play of the visual sensory system, de-engaging participants from their own bodies. (Un)Balance is an interactive experience in XR inviting participants to play on the edge of stability. It rethinks immersive interactions by foregrounding the notion of embodiment.  It imagines a world where human-space interactions aim at training curiosity and awareness.

The experience is inspired by Somaesthetics theory which highlights links between body awareness, unusual movements and perception of the world.  In a 10 minutes solo experience, participants are invited to play on the edge of stability.  VR technology is combined to two analog tools, a wearable and a tilting platform. They merge into visual, touch and sound stimuli, augmenting the participant’s perception of her body and environment. (Please find details of the experience in descriptions of image 2 and 4). The interplay of multi-sensory stimuli, enhanced by non-linear responses, awakens the player’s curiosity. Made unusually aware of her moving body and environment, she is provoked to engage in an exploratory process through movement. (un)Balance questions the possibilities offered by XR experiences in contexts such as emotional health therapy and moving meditation, namely through visualisation training.