The third space is to me, is a space where the realm of the physical crosses over with that of the virtual, and a uniquely existing space is created where we supposedly interact with another body that exists in another dimension.

Collapsing boundaries in the third space employs a wide usage of technology, especially concerning live feeds that allow people from different places to interact, and despite the difference in locations, closeness and intimacy can still be forged. Quoting from Randall Packer’s “The Third Space” article, “[The third space] is the pervasiveness of distributed space and the degree and myriad of ways in which we are constantly connected.” Similar to this principle, I primarily thought about the usage of the five senses and how they contribute to creating a dimensional fabric that becomes increasingly realistic the more senses and the degree of the senses you involve in the work; for example how touch and sight and sounds of another being would trump simply their visual appearance. Maria Chatzichristodoulo mentions this as an example in her essay, Cyberformance, referencing “Melbourne-based Company in Space that aimed to “create dialogues between our visual, aural and kinetic perceptions”.” More information from our receptors thus creates a more vivid experience. The knowledge that you are also interacting with someone in real time also reinforces the sensation of someone truly tracking your movements and expressions at the same time as you are analysing them, and the environment you employ in the work also influences this. A work conducted in a private, isolated setting, away from the judgement of other people, is bound to be more intimate than that of a busy public space.

 

In our piece, the ‘third’ body’ is created between the three of us, where we hop in and out of the different screens simultaneously (or at least we try our best to!!), and thus create a third person that is switching locations at a glance. Connection and collaboration between the three of us occured in the form of trying to coordinate with each other by looking through the screens to see whether we were actually syncing up our jumping, and it took a lot of tries before we got it right! We also had to communicate verbally for this to happen despite being in different spaces. Feedback from classmates gave some suggestions on how our idea could be improved, such as not including our faces, and wearing the same clothes, to bring out the idea of being the same, or the ‘third person’.