THE TREADMILL RUNNER
Vasili Macharadze

interactive performance, video documentation, 2015

In this performance piece the artist wants to articulate the way individuals perform stimulated by social feedback in an era of digital transformation. Running on a treadmill set up on a public place he is exposed to the audience’s interaction: through sensors the speed of the treadmill correlates to the frequency of clapping produced by the public. The higher the frequency, the faster the treadmill, thus forcing the performer to follow a dictated rhythm.

By placing the performer at the mercy of the public and giving the latter access to control the performer - maybe disregarding, maybe considering his physical condition - the project utilized the artist-viewer relationship to investigate conventional social apparatuses in the digital field. Embodied notions of progress related to the use of media and to the perfection of the body are critically examined.