Speaker: Lisa May Thomas (University of Bristol, UK)

Topic: Bodies, Materiality and Touch in Multi-person VR: Negotiating Difference in SOMA, a Social VR Experience

Bio: Lisa May Thomas is a dance and technology artist and scholar, researching the intersections of dance, embodiment, immersive performance and digital futures. Her PhD (2021, University of Bristol) investigated the role of immersive technologies in performance, combining dance-somatic and improvisation practices with multi-person VR technology. She is currently a Senior Research Associate at the ESRC Centre for Sociodigital Futures (CenSoF) at the University of Bristol. The Centre is concerned with intra-actions between society and digital technologies and how people can engage in futures in the making. In the themed domain of ‘caring futures’, she is currently investigating predictive AI systems used for identification of vulnerable young people and considering the impact of techno-solutionism on their futures.

Abstract: In this short talk, Lisa will talk about her Social VR experience 'SOMA'. The piece explores the tension between somatic experience, our capacity to sense and feel our living and moving bodies, and the ocular centric realm of VR technology. Through the dialogue between participants inhabiting physical and virtual environments, the practice of SOMA opens up the exploration of how we are embodied in virtual worlds, notions of presence and immersion, the negotiation of difference, and practices of care.