Improvising with "GravField": A Participatory Performance Exploring How Digital Objects Mediate Intercorporeal Movements within Collocated Mixed Reality

Botao Hu; Yuemin Huang; Mingze Chai; Xiaobo Hu; Yilan Tao; Rem RunGu Lin

Improvising with
Image credit: Botao Hu; Yuemin Huang; Mingze Chai; Xiaobo Hu; Yilan Tao; Rem RunGu Lin

Abstract:

As mixed reality technologies evolve, they blur the boundaries between the digital and physical worlds, prompting a reevaluation of how we engage with digital objects and mediated environments. This paper investigates the emerging concept of “digital physics” in MR, where digital objects, as informational entities, shape both cognitive and somatic experiences. Building on the “somatic turn” in human-computer interaction, we explore how the human body, as a site of interaction, adapts to new forms of embodied collaboration in MR spaces. Through the lens of contact improvisation, we introduce GravField, a live performance-based MR system that uses Audio-Visual Virtual Mediators (AVVMs) to facilitate interdependent behaviors among participants. These AVVMs incorporate metaphors such as springs, ropes, and magnetic fields, shaping bodily movement and social dynamics through dynamic, sensory feedback. Drawing from post-phenomenological theories, this research examines the relationships between embodiment, interpretation, alterity, and background in the context of MR. Our findings contribute to the understanding of how digital objects mediate embodied interaction and collective behavior, offering practical insights for designing entangled and embodied experiences in MR environments.