I AM (VR) : Wu-wei (無為), Tenuous Self (虛我) and the Liminal Body in Virtual Reality

Abstract

無為),effortless action, is one of the crucial tacit knowledge from pre-Qin Chinesethinkers. Edward Slingerland articulates in Effortless action: wu-wei asconceptual metaphor and spiritual ideal in early China, “wu-wei, in the absence ofdoing exertion, literally means ‘in the absence of/without doing exertion,’ Itis important to realise, however, that wu-wei properly refers not to what isactually happening (or not happening) in the realm of observable action butrather to the state of mind of the actor. That is, it refers not to what is oris not being done but to the phenomenological state of the doer.” (Slingerland2003: 7)Seeminglyeffortless, wu-wei can be understood as a dynamic, un-self-conscious state ofmind of an agency that is optimally active and effective. This effortless flowaccurately resonates with what I have experienced throughout my journey in IAM (VR), created by Susanne Kennedy, Markus Selg, Rodrik Biersteker andRichard Janssen in 2021. During this experience, the vivid bewilderment of‘being here but not here’ reflects an uncanny sublimation of the body incyberspace. As my vision travels deeply inside, my physical body, “in theabsence of doing exertion”, remains situated in an enclosed cubic space in thegallery where the journey takes place. Such attentiveness of consciousnesstraveling through the virtual reality within the stillness of one’s body evokesa pertinent embodiment of Wu-Wei. Positioned itself in the stance ofcritical posthumanism, this essay asks how do we consider the physical form of the human body,assembled in reality-reality within the immersive sharing and exchangingprocess of virtual-reality? What kind of transformation that the human bodymight experience when it immerses into that otherworldly reality? I Am (VR),as an embodied performative happening of both artistic research andpractice of virtual reality, provides insightful perspective in searching forpossible answers. 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