Chen Yi Studio: Current/Y

A LIVE PERFORMANCE mixing ART, dance AND TECHNOLOGY, WHERE A DANCER COMES FACE-TO-FACE WITH HER DIGITAL TWIN

Current/y is an immersive work by Taiwanese artist Chen Yi combining live performance, motion capture, game-engine technology, lasers, large-scale projection and an immersive spatial soundscape.

Equipped with XSENS motion capture sensors, a dancer controls her avatar in a real-time duet, interacting with a constantly shifting virtual world projected across a vast screen. Moving through the work as if scrolling through a social media feed, the performer enters a space governed by data and algorithms, where clicks, followers and attention become measures of human value – a kind of currency.

Part of Chen Yi’s ongoing Current/y series, the work continues to explore the idea of value in an age of rapid technological change – from cryptocurrency and online communities to misinformation, digital authority, surveillance and the economies of attention.

The Mandarin title of the artwork “ 鎏” is a combination of two characters, “current” and “gold”. Similarly, the slash in its English title “Current/y” not only indicates an “either/or” duality, but can be read as a separation mark in the programming language for folders and file paths. The title’s dual meanings reflect how the artwork series explores the transactional flow of different kinds of virtual currencies.

Chen Yi

Artistic Director of Chen Yi Studio – Chen Yi’s work explores issues surrounding human desire, existence, data, environment, politics, economy, and society through the observation and comparison of tangible substance and virtual consciousness.

Chen Yi graduated from Taipei National University of Arts and received the top prize at the 2006 Taipei Arts Award. In 2010, he co-founded the art collective LuxuryLogico, whose interdisciplinary practice brings together technology and the humanities across installation, visual art, music, performance and film. The collective has exhibited internationally at Pompidou IRCAM, Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, Thailand Biennale, Asia Triennial Manchester, Asian Art Biennial and Taiwan Biennial.

Director: Chen Yi

Performer: Livier Tu

New Media & Video Creation & Execution: XTRUX (Su Po- Jui, Li Jyun-Jyue, Chiu Chen-En, Huang Yung-Jen)

Choreography: Chou Kuan- Jou

Music, Sound Design & 3D Audio Mixing: Sheng

Laser Installation: HuginnC. (Chi-Yin Chan)

Costume Design: Val Chen

Supported by: Ministry of Culture (Technology and Arts Creative Development Subsidization Program)