[choreographic installation]

The term uncanny valley refers to the relationship between the similarity of an automaton to a human appearance and the emotional response it evokes. Initially introduced by the Japanese roboticist Masahiro Mori in 1970, the concept suggests that a robot becomes increasingly appealing as it resembles a human more closely, until a certain point where the heightened similarity triggers an uncanny or frightening sensation.

Fear and anxiety, however, have accompanied the development of lifelike machines throughout history. The uncanniness of automata was first captured by E.T.A. Hoffmann in his 1816 story The Sandman, and further explored in the works of German psychiatrist Ernst Jentsch before World War I. The four-year-long conflict, in turn, challenged notions of humanity, both through mass weaponry and prosthetic repairs for mutilated faces and bodies.

The uncanny response arises from an inability to classify an object as living. Humanoid robots and highly realistic graphic characters may captivate us until their resemblance blurs the line between human and non-human. Yet, this response is not static; it evolves over time. Just as nobody is terrified by the Lumière brothers’ L’arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat, modern people are becoming accustomed to humanoid robots and digitally or surgically altered humans. However, as tolerance for the uncanny response grows, it raises ethical concerns about the humanoid’s rights and their impact on our perception of humanity per se.

Crossing the Uncanny Valley explores whether the diminishing uncanny response to humanoid robots and highly realistic graphic characters leads to the dehumanization and objectification of real humans. It challenges our perceptions of what it means to be human in an increasingly technologically advanced world. Will we still be able to recognize humanity if we accept that someone closely resembling a human being is not? And will we ever believe in the real Maria after we have burned the false one?

The choreographic installation was conceived in dialogue with the space and context of Hajime Sorayama’s exhibition Metropolis and commissioned by HOW Art Museum (Shanghai) in 2021. Three choreographic installations—Olimpia, Touch Deprivation, and Dialogue—ran concurrently for two hours, allowing audience to navigate between them freely.

The architectural layout of the exhibition space facilitated multi-dimensional perception while physically and conceptually segregating the scenes. The intimacy of Dialogue was in dissonance with the explicit environment, while haptic interactions of Touch Deprivation were counterbalanced by the unspoken barrier of installed cameras for live streaming of the performance. In Olimpia, claustrophobic atmosphere, with its limited audience access, was expanded by multiple reflections in omnipresent mirrors. Deliberately slow movements disrupted the choreographed sequence and coherence of the performance, contrasting with a nearby pre-recorded video where they were performed three times faster.

All performers donned screens displaying pre-recorded videos of eyes, with their movements deliberately altered to varying degrees to convey the level of humanity of each character. Humanoids’ eyes lacked blinks and other micro movements, evoking an uncanny sensation for observers. Accompanying the installations were pre-recorded texts and soundscapes that structured the narrative of the performance, adding another layer of reflection to the theme of the uncanny valley.


Collaborators

Gao Jie (costume designer for Touch Deprivation), Francisco Hauss (performer), Alina Kochetova (photographer), Liu Xiao (performer), Linnea McCully (performer), Horacio Ortiz (the author of pre-recorded texts), Wu Jialu (performer).