Hybrid Bodies | InKüLe supported student workshops 2024

Quelle: InKüLe / Maryna Makarenko, Özcan Ertek, Jane Hwang, Jonny-Bix Bongers

Hybrid Bodies (student-led workshops)

As we navigate the digital age, we see how it affects our connection with our voices and bodies. Identity is fluid, realities overlap, and bodies are always in an in-between state. How do our bodies adjust to the changing stories of our online/offline presence? In this call, we seek passionate students eager to explore and discuss voice, body, and digitality intersections with an interdisciplinary student audience.

 

Hybrid Bodies is the first open call of a series of student-led workshops initiated and supported by InKüLe. Students are invited to propose a workshop topic they're currently researching in. InKüLe co-curates selected proposals, providing technical support, spatial organisation and general planning of the workshop. The workshops are open to students from all UdK departments, offering a place for transdisciplinary exploration and exchange.

Hybrid Bodies¹: Disembodiment and Spatiality of Voice

Disembodiment and Spatiality of Voice

The workshop is on exploration of human voice in physical and digital spaces and offers a collective journey that goes beyond conventional boundaries of gender and identity. It encourages participants to appreciate the diverse and imaginative possibilities of voice expression.

It commences with a collective tuning-in session, where we connect with each other and our surroundings through a series of Deep Listening scores. Following this, we'll embark on vocal warm-up exercises, both individually and in pairs.

Additionally, there will be a brief theoretical input discussing voice modulation techniques with a diverse array of examples showcasing the use of voice across various digital art platforms, delving into how these mediums shape perception and construct different identities.

In the second part of the workshop, we'll explore recording our voices and experimenting with various filters and modulations. The culmination will be the creation of a miniature sound installation, featuring our voice samples arranged into a choir-like composition.

 

Maryna Makarenko is a Ukrainian-born multimedia artist, performer, and facilitator of artistic laboratories. Primarily based in Berlin, she completed her studies in Art and Media at the Berlin University of the Arts. Her artistic practice blends various media, including video, performance, sound, and voice.

Özcan Ertek, born in Istanbul and based in Berlin, holds a master's degree in Sound Engineering and Sonic Arts from Istanbul Technical University (2015). He also pursued a diploma in Art and Media and master's in Art in Context at the University of the Arts Berlin. Combining his backgrounds in Mechanical Engineering and sound, Ertek's interdisciplinary works explore human-machine-nature relations and critique the societal impacts of new technologies. Since November 2018, he has been performing music and exhibiting media arts and kinetic sound installations in Berlin.

Quelle: InKüLe / Maryna Makarenko, Özcan Ertek

Hybrid Bodies²: Speak Your Story - A Linguistic Exploration of Identity and Diversity

How do we ask questions to learn about each other?

What do our mother tongues reveal about us?

How do different languages shape our identities? Mother tongue, foreign languages or

even memes?

How do we define similarities or differences in terms of languages and cultures?

In this workshop, participants explore the tapestry of human diversity through the lens of language and culture. Inspired by historical practices during WW1, where German linguists deep-surveyed war prisoners to understand foreign languages and cultures, our workshop aims to revive this research methodology in a contemporary context. This workshop will encourage participants to delve into the intricate web of human connections, foster understanding, and challenge preconceived notions.

 

Participants: Open to UdK students interested in getting to know others and willing to share their personal stories. Participation of BIPOC women is particularly welcome! 

 

Jane Hwang is a multimedia artist based in Berlin. She studied at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design (B.F.A. in Painting) and the Berlin University of the Arts (M.A. in Art in Context), where she focused on interdisciplinary research bridging theories and media production. Her works revolve around exploring the boundary between history, the present, and the future from a narrative perspective through time-based art.

 

Quelle: InKüLe / Jane Hwang

Hybrid Bodies³: səˈlesCHəl - Experiencing Edges of the Digital Self

The 5-hour workshop "səˈlesCHəl - Experiencing Edges of the Digital Self" will explore the wide-ranging territories of identity and the concept of the 'open avatar' within the digital realm. The workshop utilizes elements from the interactive tool "Hyperlinked Rituals," developed by Christian Schmidts and Jonny-Bix Bongers, which allows for integration of real-life interaction with the dynamic gaming software Unreal Engine. The workshop aims to delve into the transindividualistic process of virtual embodiment, where digital personas are not just extensions of the self but are entities that exist in a hyper-open state, free for interpretation and exploration. Participants will engage in hands-on activities using gaming engine software and motion capture solutions, empowering them to create and interact with their digital personas in real-time.

"səˈlesCHəl" invites participants into the evolving relationship between our physical selves and our digital echoes, offering a look into the future of digital interaction and identity formation.

 

Jonny-Bix Bongers is scholar, theater maker and designer from Berlin. He worked as a director and dramaturg and focusing mainly on the intersection of performing arts and new technology. 

His pieces have been shown at multiple cultural institutions like the Münchner Kammerspiele or the Goethe Institute, DOCKdigital as well as the Ars Electronica in Linz. 

 

Quelle: InKüLe / Jonny-Bix Bongers