For the 2022 edition of the NowNet Arts Conference on October 31st, the telematic research team of the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) presented a project entitled OSMOSIS. OSMOSIS was a concert event, highlighting how telematically connected spaces always confront each other asymmetrically. Their telematic connection is part of a continuous space in which information is fragmented and selectively reassembled. Like the biochemical process of osmosis in which molecules diffuse across a cell membrane from one level of concentration to another, in telematic connections certain elements such as sound, physicality, movement, and empathy are diffused across spaces, each being transmitted differently and thus perceived differently at their respective destinations.
Special attention was paid to the decomposition of visual objects and perspective across two separate stages. By arranging two telematically connected spaces within the campus building of the Zurich University of the Arts, the project created a possibility for the audience to visit both sides of the telematic arrangement in two consecutive performances—one side per performance—and therefore perceive the asymmetry between the two “spaces.”
In addition to the bidirectional connection between the two spaces, a version of OSMOSIS was broadcasted via OBS and Vimeo to the NowNet Arts Venue using a split screen and a binaural sound mix. A third space was created for the Metaverse. This virtual space included elements of the two performance venues on campus and allowed the online visitors to move cubes via the keyboard of their personal device.
The complexity of the interconnected layers of the performance was a great challenge on the level of technique as well as musical interaction. Focusing on asymmetries in a telematic performance opened up a wide field of possible interactions between distant spaces for future telematic projects.
