The Oslo Experiment is a series of interactive performances developed by choreographer Magnhild Fossum, artist Mats J. Sivertsen, musician Leon Muraglia and dramaturg Vera de Vlieger.
Synopsis
In this piece we meet the cyborg Me-Me as she comes to life for the first time. She is placed behind a plastic curtian in a laboratory, to which her inventor has invited the audience to take part in a series of tests. They are encouraged to interact with the cyborg through the screen. They can touch her, communtacte with gestures or press her buttons. Through each interaction Me-Me's humanity slowly evolves. The performance typically lasts 15 minutes.
Artist Statement
Technology: empowerment or entrapment? OSLX is a piece about the human condition in our modern techno-crazed time. It seeks to explore how the use of different types of technology influences our modes of operation. Does this use only empower us – or does it at the same time alienate us? Does it bring us closer or further apart? The answer to this is probably both. Technology, albeit neutral, will always have a profound influence on how we interact with each other and our surroundings. It will also shape how we see ourselves as human beings. In this piece we explore the nature of this type of technology and the power structures it begets. What is the relation between empowerment and alienation while interacting with new communication technologies? Freud had some thoughts on this towards the end of his life, stating that technology had made man «a god with artificial limbs», but was also eager to point out that «modern man does not feel happy with is god-like nature.»