Lea-Maraike Sambale

Room of Body Landscapes
Virtual Space including Video, Text and Sound
2024
Digital Work Installation

Room of Body Landscapes is a virtual space that invites visitors to explore videos, texts, and sound. The work contains fragments of research on the memory of touch and the traces touch leaves behind. Through an avatar, visitors can freely navigate the space. The fragments do not follow a linear narrative.
Towering figures rise within the space. Their movements—elusive, a twitching—seem detached from any familiar rhythm. Gigantic screens display microscopic video footage. Voices become audible, they speak of first closeness and final touches, of the scars of being touched, and of the yearning for contact.

The work is complemented by a Lecture Performance. In this, a screenwalk guides visitors through the virtual space, accompanied by a scenic reading. The artist adds her own memories and experiences to the voices and videos on the screen. In contrast to the digital work, physical objects play a supporting role in the performance: velvet cushions, a transparent curtain with cord, and the scent of lavender serve as subtle reference points. They enhance the narrative experience and provide insight into the work’s content and background research.