Site-Writing with Technologies of Capture

In December 2023, the Kunstgewerbemuseum am Kulturforum Berlin hosted the workshop »Site-writing with technologies of capture« in partnership with the Cluster of Excellence »Matters of Activity.« This workshop, curated by Maxime Le Calvé, is a collaboration between the Speculative Realities Lab (Speclab: Maxime Le Calvé, Paulina Greta Stefanović (HTW Berlin), Nayeli Vega (KHB Weissensee), Warja Rybakova (DOCK11/DOCKdigital), Baris Pekcagliyan (DOCK11/DOCKdigital), Nico Daleman (UdK Berlin), Mauro Risso (HTW Berlin), Thomas Picht); Shauna Janssen, a visiting scholar from Concordia University in performance studies and site-specific practices; and the Berlin-based artist duo MELT (Ren Loren Britton & Iz Paehr).

The dual focus of this two-day workshop was an interdisciplinary exploration of the notions of border and dis/orientation, and the first presentation of Subcortical Matters, an immersive brain data visualization platform developed by the SpecLab. We delved into the intersections of ableist concerns, site-writing practices, queer phenomenology, the atmospherics of exhibition spaces, mixed reality, and data visualization in medicine.

The participants encountered a space at the museum which served as a stage for site-responsive and place-based scenographic design anthropology collaborations in the coming year for the »Quasi-Makers« pop-up exhibition series, curated by MoA members Maxime Le Calvé and Claudia Banz. This workshop also aimed at getting a better understanding of this specific site, exploring its challenges for mixed reality installations and participative performances, while developing an original critical reflection on spatial concepts and designing with 3D visualization technologies based on our prototype.

Day 1 & Day 2 was split between sessions orchestrated by MELT and Shauna Janssen, and sessions prepared by the SpecLab. The sessions by MELT and Shauna offered the participants a chance to deeply engage with the museum site through various technologies of capture, including 3D scanning, virtual sketching, and other spatial capture devices. The goal was to prompt responses and reactions to the physical space and its inherent boundaries. The sessions guided by the SpecLab focused on the merging of art and science, as the team presented a novel brain visualization prototype in mixed reality. Together, we discussed the possibilities of staging encounters with the »more-than-human within us« using mixed reality technologies.

Concluding on Day 3, attendees took part in the conception and presentation of a mixed reality pop-up installation, culminating in a public visit (on registration) during the afternoon.

This workshop served as a soft kickoff to a series of events in design anthropology collaboration with the Kunstgewerbemuseum.

You can find a detailed illustrated workshop report on Maxime's website.