I AM (VR) : Tenuous Self (虛我) and the Liminal Body in Virtual Reality
Authors: Peng Yiou Penelope 
Published: January 2022

Positioned itself in the stance of critical posthumanism, this essay examines the virtual corporeality in Markus Selg and Susanne Kennedy's VR performance I AM (VR). By introducing Zhuangzi's idea of Tenuous self (虛我) and Jean-Luc Nancy's take on the liminal body, this essay asks how do we consider the physical form of the body, assembled in reality-reality within the immersive sharing and exchanging process of virtual-reality? What kind of transformation that the body might experience when it immerses into that otherworldly reality? I Am (VR), as an embodied performative happening of both artistic research and practice of virtual reality, provides insightful perspective in searching for possible answers. Taking this analysis as a departure point, this essay further investigates the possible entanglements between the ‘I’ and the ‘VR'.@font-face{font-family:"Cambria Math";panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:roman;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face{font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;mso-font-charset:128;mso-generic-font-family:swiss;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-134238209 -371195905 63 0 4129279 0;}@font-face{font-family:"\@Arial Unicode MS";panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;mso-font-charset:128;mso-generic-font-family:swiss;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-134238209 -371195905 63 0 4129279 0;}@font-face{font-family:STSongti-TC-Regular;panose-1:2 1 6 0 4 1 1 1 1 1;mso-font-charset:136;mso-generic-font-family:auto;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:647 135200768 16 0 1310879 0;}@font-face{font-family:"\@STSongti-TC-Regular";mso-font-charset:136;mso-generic-font-family:auto;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:647 135200768 16 0 1310879 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-unhide:no;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";margin:0cm;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";border:none;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;}p{mso-style-priority:99;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right:0cm;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;margin-left:0cm;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";}.MsoChpDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;mso-default-props:yes;font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";border:none;}.MsoPapDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1{page:WordSection1;}@font-face{font-family:"Cambria Math";panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:roman;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-536870145 1107305727 0 0 415 0;}@font-face{font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;mso-font-charset:128;mso-generic-font-family:swiss;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-134238209 -371195905 63 0 4129279 0;}@font-face{font-family:"Helvetica Neue";panose-1:2 0 5 3 0 0 0 2 0 4;mso-font-charset:0;mso-generic-font-family:auto;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-452984065 1342208475 16 0 1 0;}@font-face{font-family:"\@Arial Unicode MS";panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4;mso-font-charset:128;mso-generic-font-family:swiss;mso-font-pitch:variable;mso-font-signature:-134238209 -371195905 63 0 4129279 0;}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal{mso-style-unhide:no;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";margin:0cm;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";border:none;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA;}p.Default, li.Default, div.Default{mso-style-name:Default;mso-style-unhide:no;mso-style-parent:"";margin-top:8.0pt;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:0cm;margin-left:0cm;line-height:120%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Helvetica Neue";mso-fareast-font-family:"Helvetica Neue";mso-bidi-font-family:"Helvetica Neue";color:black;border:none;mso-style-textoutline-type:none;mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-dpiwidth:0pt;mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-linecap:flat;mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-join:bevel;mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-pctmiterlimit:0%;mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-dash:solid;mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-align:center;mso-style-textoutline-outlinestyle-compound:simple;}.MsoChpDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;mso-default-props:yes;font-size:10.0pt;mso-ansi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;mso-fareast-font-family:"Arial Unicode MS";border:none;}.MsoPapDefault{mso-style-type:export-only;}div.WordSection1{page:WordSection1;}