Interview on Inter Dis-Communication Machine (1993)

1) Describe this work in detail.

This is an artwork of Kazuhiko Hachiya, named "Inter discommunication machine". It is a communication system which is composed by a video camera, head mounted displays, batteries and feathers. People can exchange their sense of hearing and seeing to each other. You can see and hear what your partner see and hear when using this machine.The artwork contains the sense of Taoist Cosmology which focus on the interaction between two opposite elements as a whole. By adding elements of Taoism, the artist want to express the idea of combination and independence. In this artwork, the participant and his partner' are independent but their senses of seeing and hearing are combined into one.

 

2) How does the work use technology to extend or change the abilities of the human body?

After turning on the inter-discommunication machine, human can become a communication system which will be able to transmitting and receiving sensual experiences.

 
3) What issues does this work raise (eg. about today's society/ about the effects of existing technologies/ about the potential or possibilities that new technologies might have?) 

The Inter-discommunication machine allows you to experience a whole new way of viewing the world, a non-human way.
 

According to the artist, the concept of this project is to create a “double identity self” and “mutual identity”. He created this artwork in an attempt to confuse the boundaries between “you” and “me”, to let the participants see the world from the others’ eyes, which can be drastically different from their own view. Since the so- called “world” in which we live is only the product of our subjective perception and there is diversity of perceptions of different people, the world in different people’s eyes hence varies, too. I think this machine encourages people to think about others and put yourself in other's position, in order to create a harmonious society.