Undula: Embodied mediated communication via coordinated movement

Abstract

This work is the part of my ongoing Practice-based PhD that explores ways of making people feel more connected across geographical distance. My research proposes to reconsider the view of mediated communication as disembodied sending-receiving of information that is missing contextual and bodily aspects. Through my experimental practice I aim to reinforce characteristics of our embodied existence and allow dyads (two people) to communicate over distance in a dynamic, co-regulated and ambiguous way without the use of explicit written language or speech. This paper describes the first experimental work-"Undula". It aims to test the hypothesis that: connectedness can arise from a jointly attentive dynamic body movement coordination. The experimental work features two identical custom-made rocking chairs (Figure 1) with a sonified movement feedback (ocean waves). The chairs will be placed in separate locations allowing participants to coordinate their movement through a mutual internal self-paced rhythm over distance with no visual feedback. Explore this work in action: https://brazauskayte.com/undula/.