Colin Counsell states “We never encounter the real world, only culturally shaped formulations of it, so the reality that we experience is ‘textual’ even as we perceive it” (1996, p.207). This questions the way we think and view the world, we are taught specific morals and laws when we are young, depending on cultural origin these differ. Can an individual’s idea of reality differ?

In our performance See without seeing we wanted the audience to encounter their version of reality whilst utilising their imagination. In doing this the certainties of their life would be enhanced, but the uncertainties would be represented in a clearer way so that the subconscious could interpret and grasp this particular notion. Cultural theorist Jean-Francois Lyotard coins the term ‘sublime’. He refers to this as “the point at which old views of the world are under-mined but new views are not yet secure… a necessarily indefinable ‘something’ (1996, p.208). When the audience member was in the box we wanted them to experience something similar to that of a liminal space when the text began through the headphones. To begin with the box was “a box and will always be a box:, to quote our script, however following the first textual shift into the description of the jungle, we wanted the participant to also begin the psychological journey through the landscape of their subconscious. By doing this they will explore with the help of their imagination, the psycho-visual elements of our performance. For instance, they will be able to ascertain the presence of the snake in the jungle and the feel of the sand beneath their feet on the beach. The box should not be just a box when they step out of it at the end of the performance, it should be an ever-changing moment embodied by the box. The possibility that these world we describe in our script could be represented by an inanimate object on the surface of reality, but without our sight we are led to acknowledge these on the basis of our imagination. They are moulded by our own perception of the world and in some respects are vulnerable. The imagination is a powerful entity and continues to place self- doubt in society’s minds.

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The above image seems to represent that of a liminal space for me and links to notions of the sublime. The path which has been taken from the beginning hasn’t been shown in the picture, therefore can this mean that it is not worthy of vision, is this the same as us repressing emotions or not announcing new ideas if we are not sure of their accuracy? The space that the anonymous source is travelling towards is in darkness, ironically this illuminates the fact that there are shadows of doubt cast over the new ideas of our world. If i had to position the box anywhere within this image it would be nearer to the destination, that of uncertainty. Our project incorporated technology and the use of headphones. Capstone suggests that “Technology offers us a simulated reality—one which collapses time and space (i.e. offers immediacy and ultimate proximity to information). The medium (or “enframement”) gives forth such an excess of information that we are left as “standing-reserve” or attendant to the information, without any authentic creative space (2012, p.4). Although this is the view of one individual this is central to our question and aim of our performance. he writes widely different issues but the fact that he brings up the possibility that technology can form a parallel reality is very interesting in terms of our idea. It lends itself to the concept that with the use of headphones and the imagination two worlds could have been created, on the other hand can technology in this way replace that of our sight. Neil Harbisson certainly proved that it could be considered as a sense in itself.

 

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Works Cited

Capstone, Dominic http://northerndom.wordpress.com/2012/02/21/stretching-out-in-the-liminal-spaces/ (accessed 8th December 2012)

Counsell, Colin (1996) Signs of Performance, Oxon: Routledge