(’Maquette’);
Maquette is a hybrid physical-virtual performance combining motion capture, contemporary circus and gaming technology to explore how the human body is perceived, interpreted, and reimagined by both the physical and the programmed eye. Orchestrated, captured and rendered in real time, each performance is unique, providing Maquette’s audience with a never-before-seen experience.
Inspired by research in figurative sculpture, design principles, and algorithmic bias, Maquette unfolds across six scenes simultaneously in physical and virtual space. The performance begins by examining how art, science, and technology can create false ideals and perpetuate social bias when left unchecked, then evolves to explore how virtual representation can authentically reflect the nuance of human physiology through contemporary research in embodied cognition.
Central to this exploration is the unsettling legacy of Norma—a 1940s statue created by American gynecologist Robert Dickinson. Constructed from the averaged measurements of 15,000 white women aged 21-25, Norma's "ideal body" was celebrated by prominent scientific and cultural institutions, demonstrating how physical standardization becomes embedded within social structures.
Supported by immersive projection, spatial audio, and high-performance motion tracking, four performers marry ballet, circus, martial arts, bboying, and yoga asana together in a new movement style, forming kaleidoscopic shapes as their bodies converge. Maquette is a sensory-rich celebration of presence and embodiment that reveals how cellular depth can ripple across cores, pins, and bytes.
Xtensions 2022, Onassis ONX, New York (Maquette Alpha)
ONX + IDFA DocLab MoCap Stage 2022, De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam (Maquette Alpha)
DEMO 2023, Onassis ONX,
New York
MAXlive 2023, Onassis ONX, New York
Supporters
EY Metaverse Lab
Media Art Xploration
NEW INC / New Museum
Onassis ONX
OptiTrack
Special Thanks
Eddie Berg
Todd Bryant / NYU IDM
Becky Schutt
Credits (Contd)
DramaturgEmily Reilly
Storyboard IllustrationJessica Hearn
Producer (MAXlive)Mary John Frank
Photography Alycia Kravitz
Luis Suarez
Created by
Lisa Jamhoury
Choreography and PerformanceHybrid Movement Company
Françoise Voranger, Grasshopper Mitch, Andrea Nikki Ortiz, Graham Reese
3D ModelingWoraya Boonyapanachoti, Lisa Jamhoury, Rongyu Li, Guðjón Örn Lárusson, NYCAP3D
Unreal Engine DevelopmentSneha Belkhale, Kevin Peter He, Lisa Jamhoury, Matt Romein, Yilin Zhang
Unreal Engine Development and Technician
Christopher Strawley
Motion capture technician, animation
Lisa Jamhoury, Isabella Heron (MAXlive)
Audio concept and script
Lisa Jamhoury
Audio Effects
Nicholas de la Motte
Audio Engineer
Matt McCorkle