performance & installation, 2021
Lena Chen & Michael Neumann

What would you say if you could speak through someone else’s body? The Institute for Mediated Intimacy explores isolation and connection through roleplay sessions that attempt to bridge the distance between strangers.

Two strangers in different cities engage with each other through remotely controlled human avatars whom they instruct to speak and act on their behalf. Unfolding during the COVID-19 pandemic, the conversation and interactions evolve as audience members manipulate the avatars to embody their emotions, desires, and commands with intimate and absurd results.