The Sensoriality of the Third Space

We often associate networked space, the cybernated space we share virtually or vicariously through our online communications, as a medium of disembodiment. However, it can be shown that despite geographical separation, there is a sensorial quality to networked space, here referred to as the “third space,” with its own unique potential for social intimacy, closeness, and visceral experience. This panel is concerned with how artists have activated a sensoriality of the third space through sound and visual media, as well as through interaction, social engagement, and play. What are the possibilities for bringing audio resonances, spatial dimension, media transformations, and the illusion of physicality to the third space? How can the space of the network be used as a performance stage that creates new trajectories of connection between remote locations? And how might audiences view and interact with networked performance staged in the third space in new ways? The Sensoriality of the Third Space will explore these artistic potentials and aspirations with a group of composers and media artists whose work has focused specifically on the network as a medium for performance and experimentation.