As Uncanny As a Body

Abstract

‘As uncanny as a body’ is a video work which documents the constant transition of a dancing body from an abled human state into a glitched, injured, nonhuman one. Based on the development and use of a GAN model, the visual data of a dancer are processed, and figures that manifest this in-between state are produced. What happens when AI is not used in order to optimise the performance of the dancer but rather to generate body types and movements lying beyond fixed standards and classifications? How does a poorly trained AI model affect our perception of the body and the body itself? Does it remain human in all its smudges, cracks and distortions?Dance, as a practice that entails the act of change, offers the ground to study a body's possible becomings while undergoing the application of machine learning. 'As uncanny as a body' speculates upon AI-induced injuries in order to discuss trauma, to connect familiarity to uncanniness, and to raise questions about the witnessing and acknowledgment of our gaze.