3-minute teaser video

A live performance is commonly perceived as being more “real” than a recording. This perception of reality is often reinforced visually by the physical presence of a performer in the same space as the audience. In such instances of co-existence, individual identity is temporarily suspended, as performers, audience members, venue organizers, and even architectural spaces are expected to fulfill specific roles at appropriate times. The same sense of anticipation unifies all parties, as they collectively witness the unfolding of an event guided by ritual, chance, and uncertainty. Manufactured Realities, however, confronts the authenticity of a reality defined by physical presence. It explores the boundary between "reality" and "alternate reality" in various forms: the real architectural space and the multiple virtual spaces; the unprocessed instrument confined to the hidden space and the electronically-processed zheng in the presentation space; the physical absence of the performer and the video replacing that absence; grayscale (absence of colour) and colour (a cognitive illusion perceived as reality). Ultimately, this work invites audience members to examine their perception of reality, and to reconsider alternate realities as equally "real" experiences.