Perceiving Peripersonal Space

Yeseul Song’s Two Subtle Bodies (2022) uses bone-conduction headphones and capes with embedded electronics to generate sound compositions that respond dynamically in real time to the movements of two participants in a space. The idea is to allow two individuals co-existing within a space to experience each other’s peripersonal space–which Song describes as extending “the senses of self and others by recognizing and perceiving this soft and fluid space between us” [1]. Song further explains that “[t]he subtle body is a concept that appears in Taoism and Dharmic religions to indicate bodies that are neither solely physical nor solely spiritual, in contrast to the mind-body dualism that has dominated western thought. In neurology, the space surrounding a body is called Peripersonal Space and enabled by visuo-tactile senses” [2].

I actually had the chance to try this project with a friend when Yeseul exhibited it at NYU (see photos)! In terms of how I’d want to use it, I’d be very curious to experiment with this system in the context of butoh/butoh-inspired dance. One of the founders of butoh, Kazuo Ono, once described seeing with his feet and that the body is covered with so many eyes that it’s “virtually impossible to count them all” [3]. How would we perceive/interact with space differently if we had the aid of such a tool? It might also be interesting to modify this tool to perceive non-human bodies.

Here are some links to more information about this work:

[1] Two Subtle Bodies. An essay by Yeseul Song | by More Art | Medium

[2] Two Subtle Bodies – Yeseul Song

[3] Kazuo Ohno’s World: From Without & Within – Google Books