Cicatrix, Charred Bodies: Pain and Redemption in Virtual and Real Worlds

Cicatrix, Charred Bodies: Pain and Redemption in Virtual and Real Worlds opens at the Eyebeam Window Gallery on November 29th. "Cicatrix" refers to scar tissue, and for his installation Eyebeam Resident Alan Sondheim juxtaposes early radio equipment with contemporary models of virtual avatars to meditate on virtuality as it relates to distortion, pain, and death. In a reflection on the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism, Alan comments how in Second Life pain physically cannot occur, but therefore it also cannot be stopped. The avatars he creates, both through digital texture mapping and 3D printing, capture distorted bodies in moments of unnatural pain. The elements of distortion in Alan's work are aural, too: several antique crystal radio sets will be amplified so they can be heard through the glass in the Window Gallery. Cicatrix, Charred Bodies will be on view in the window gallery until December 11th.