Kenta Yamazaki | Maki Hanagata "Ergonomic Embryo / Protocell"
Maki Hanagata's "Ergonomic Embryo / Protocell" is an experimental performance exploring human adaptation to technology by attempting to 'become a chair'.Summary
This is a review of the performance piece "Ergonomic Embryo / Protocell" by Maki Hanagata, presented as a "public experiment." The work explores the concept of "becoming technology," addressing the reality where humans' modes of existence are dictated by technology within capitalist systems, seeking potential alternative realities in the fluctuation of the body. The performance is structured in four parts. Initially, the audience hears a log detailing the performers' attempts to "become a chair." Subsequently, the audience is instructed to focus their consciousness on the relationship between their own body and the chair they are sitting on. Performers eventually reveal themselves by falling off their chairs, followed by attempts to "become a chair," including one performer stripping down and mimicking the shape of a chair. An additional perspective is introduced via a system using generative AI to process real-time video of human bodies and convert them into chair imagery if deemed recognizable as such. In the final segment, two performers wear head-mounted displays, receiving visual feedback as they attempt to merge into a single chair within the video feed. This process evokes a queer aesthetic, blending SM-like eroticism with dryness, stemming from the configuration of the human-chair dynamic. This performance was part of the "Autumn Meteorite" performing arts festival as a public experiment leading up to a main performance scheduled for 2026 and beyond.
(Source：artscape)