For iTernity

Introduction

A choreography of light, a requiem for the eternally dying swan

“Because iTernity is still my favourite. Screens capture projections in space and tell the story of how we use our devices to capture data floating around in the cloud.” (GLOW Eindhoven visitor)

For iTernity (2015) is an audiovisual installation based on the famous ballet solo The Dying Swan. But there is no longer a physical dancer. This swan has been uploaded to the ‘cloud’, where she is everywhere at once and will dance forever. Can you catch the dance of the eternally dying swan? Try to follow her and maybe you will dance with her.

For iTernity is inspired by the virtual world. Data is ubiquitous on the internet and our profile pictures never age. Perhaps we can even say that we have finally become immortal. But we will always need a screen to mediate between these physical and digital realities. And while one person can only see a fragment of reality, together we may be able to see the bigger picture.

The site-specific version of For iTernity is what we call an ‘analogue augmented reality’. The dance is filmed in the space where it is presented, immortalising the environment. The audience/participants will recognise the background in the videos and feel immersed in this layered reality.

The accompanying music is based on Mozart's Requiem, sung by an autotuned Californian YouTube vlogger who recounts her death on Wikipedia. She now sings her own requiem. The music is simultaneously soothing and alienating.

For iTernity can be experienced from the inside - as an interactive installation - and from all sides.

Inside the installation, visitors find themselves in a ‘cloud of light’, accompanied by strange but soothing music. Images appear on the special screen they are given: a dancing figure; the dying swan. The visitors follow the dancer. They move with the figure: up, down, left, right. It feels like a game. In their enthusiasm, they move towards each other. They discover they can work together, create a bigger picture... Outside the installation, passers-by hear music. They see people moving with screens, which together form a fragmented film. The screens move together, the images move with them. A choreography of light and images emerges.