ALEXANDRA KIRWOOD — MODEL-AS-SELF
ALEXANDRA KIRWOOD
[MODEL-AS-SELF]
[MODEL-AS-SELF]
BIO
ALEXANDRA KIRWOOD IS A RESEARCHER, IMAGE-MAKER, AND A FORMER RESEARCHER IN RESIDENCE AT ACMI X. HER CREATIVE PRACTICE RESEARCH EXPLORES RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN BODIES AND IMAGES IN THE CONTEXT OF ART, FASHION, PERFORMANCE, AND DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES. SHE AIMS TO QUESTION IMAGE CONSUMPTION, THE ROLE OF NEW TECHNOLOGY, AND DIGITAL REPRESENTATIONS OF BODIES TO UNCOVER THE SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF IMAGE-MAKING.
HER CAREER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE ARTIST RESIDENCIES AT THE FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE IN WA (2024) AND THE LOCK-UP GALLERY IN NSW (2024), AS WELL AS A RESEARCHER IN RESIDENCY AT ACMI X (2022). ALEXANDRA IS ALSO PART OF HIBALL, A FEMALE-LED PRODUCTION COMPANY SPECIALISING IN MOVING IMAGES FOR THE DIGITAL WORLD, WITH WORK SHOWCASED AT SEVERAL BAFTA-QUALIFYING FESTIVALS.
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IN THE EVER-EVOLVING INTERSECTION BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL REALMS, THE ONCE DISTINCT BOUNDARIES THAT SEPARATE THE TANGIBLE FROM ITS VIRTUAL COUNTERPART ARE DISSIPATING. ‘MODEL-AS-SELF’ EXPLORES THIS EMERGING DATA LANDSCAPE, WHERE THE FUSION OF REALITY AND ITS DIGITAL COUNTERPARTS CHALLENGES OUR UNDERSTANDING OF PERCEPTION.
‘MODEL-AS-SELF’ IS A VIDEO WORK THAT EXPLORES THE ESSENCE OF THE HUMAN FORM WITHIN 3D SCANNED IMAGES, EXAMINING HOW TECHNOLOGY DECONSTRUCTS TRADITIONAL CONCEPTS OF THE BODY. DRAWING ON BAUDRILLARD'S CONCEPTS OF HYPERREALITY AND SIMULACRA—WHERE DIGITAL COPIES EXIST WITHOUT AN ORIGINAL REFERENCE— THE WORK CONSISTS OF ENTIRELY DIGITALLY CONSTRUCTED SPACES COMBINED WITH 3D SCANS OF A HUMAN MODEL. USING PHOTOGRAMMETRY, THE PROJECT CONVERTS THE HUMAN BODY AND SURROUNDING SPACE INTO DATA.
PRESENTED AS A SERIES OF ANIMATED POINT CLOUDS, "MODEL-AS-SELF" EXPLORES THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN REALITY AND SIMULATION. AS THE CAMERA DRIFTS THROUGH THREE SETS, THE DATA DISTORTS AND TRANSFORMS, MERGING BODIES AND OBJECTS. THE SPACES CONTINUOUSLY MUTATE INTO LESS RECOGNISABLE FORMS, BECOMING SWIRLS OF DATA. THIS TRANSFORMATION SHIFTS THE PERSPECTIVE FROM A HUMAN-CENTRIC VIEW TO A MACHINIC ONE, WHERE ALL INPUT IS ORGANISED INTO DATA WITHOUT HIERARCHY OR FORM.
