Lying still on the floor of the exhibition space, Cillari exhales through a long cable, which suspended from the floor departs from inside her left nostril and ends at the center of the main screen. Through her breath she generates a “digital creature” in the form of a feather. Her exhalations production approximately 14,000 feathers, which cumulate into various different states of being – patterns of addition and resistance. The range of the carbon dioxide level in the exhibition space is also revealed by color changes in the digital feather, which veers towards black if there are higher concentrations of carbon dioxide in the air she is inhaling. This poetic performance-installation deepens your attention as one hears the fatigued sound of Cillari’s respiration over time.
About the artist
Italian media artist and architect, lives and works in Amsterdam (the Netherlands). Her work involves the creation of sensorial and perceptual mechanisms in immersive and augmented environments. Her artistic investigation examines how patterns of consciousness, perception and identity emerge in such settings. Over the last years she has been specifically interested in a field of research concerning the ‘Body as Interface’.
Her interactive installations, that are at the intersection of architecture and performance art, have been exhibited and presented internationally. She received the ‘First Prize’ at VIDA 13.0: Art & Artificial Life International Competition (Madrid, Spain 2010), ‘Art Division Excellence Prize’ at 11th Japan Media Arts Festival (Tokyo, Japan 2007), ‘Honorable Mention’ at Prix Ars Electronica, Interactive Art (Linz, Austria 2007) and VIDA 9.0: Art & Artificial Life International Competition (Madrid, Spain 2006).
Since 2007 she is teaching advisor at the Frank Mohr Institute, IME Interactive Media Environment Department (Groningen, the Netherlands). Since 2010 she is a core group member at Optofonica Laboratory for Immersive ArtScience (Amsterdam). She has been a member of the jury for Prix Ars Electronica 2008. Interactive Art (Linz 2008), Prix Ars Electronica 2009. Hybrid Art (Linz 2009) and CYNETART competition 2010 (Dresden, Germany 2010).
