Leena Saarinen (Ma in New Media) is designer and researcher of digital media with special focus on interactive storytelling, cross-media. Avatar Body Collision is a globally dispersed cyberformance troupe; its four members are located in New Zealand (Vicki Smith and Helen Varley Jamieson), Finland (Leena Saarinen) and the UK (Karla Ptacek). The members have educational background in theatre, new media, visual art, design and education. The “Colliders” have been working together since 2001, exploring the creation of live performance in cyberspace. Their work investigates the role of the machine in mediating human behaviour and themes of proximity and distance, absence and presence and relationships, real, virtual and imagined. They have created eight shows so far, but have as of yet never met together live as a group. They are also the creative force behind UpStage, a web-based environment for live multi-player interactive online performances.
17 October 2007
