#1105: Tribeca XR: Embodiment Experiments in a Surrealist, Speculative, Feminist Eco-Fiction on Plastics Permeating the Body in “Plastisapians”

First-time VR artists Miri Chekhanovich & Édith Jorisch in collaboration with Dpt. and '>The NFB created some unique embodiment experiments within Plastisapians as they explored speculative futures about plastic permeating and changing our bodies. Inspired by feminist author Heather Davis' essay on 'Toxic Progeny: The Plastisphere and Other Queer Futures', Chekhanovich & Jorisch take the concept of plastics entering and changing hormones in our bodies to the speculative extreme by having you embody animals and altered humans who evolve into having more of a fluid experience of their body. They use irony and playful humor to avoid an overly-moralizing tone in part inspired by feminist scholarDonna Haraway's idea of Staying with the Trouble to explore experimental futures while accepting the reality of the current situation. We talk about each of their journeys into VR from the realms of visual art and filmmaking, and explore how the use of embodiment is opening up new avenues for feminist eco-fictions and speculative futures aimed to have us reflect on the present moment.