Jo em defineixo com a arquitecta corporal. Vaig fer ballet clàssic i tinc coneixements bàsics d'arquitectura i moda. Com a arquitecta corporal, em fascina el cos humà i exploro maneres de transformar-lo. Vaig treballar a Philips Electronics, al laboratori de recerca de disseny per al futur, pensant com serien les coses d'aquí 20 anys. Vaig explorar la pell humana i com la tecnologia pot transformar el cos. Vaig treballar en conceptes com el tatuatge electrònic, que es pot engrandir tocant-lo, o en vestits que s'envermellien i tremolaven amb la llum. Vaig començar a fer els meus propis experiments, enfocaments poc sofisticats de les converses que mantenia. Això són bastonets enganxats a la meva companya de pis amb cola. (Rialles) Vaig començar a col·laborar amb un amic meu, en Bart Hess. Normalment no té aquest aspecte. Nosaltres mateixos fèiem de models. Vam convertir els nostres pisos en laboratoris i treballàvem d'una forma molt espontània i immediata. Creàvem imatges visuals que provocaven l'evolució humana. Mentre treballava a Philips, vam parlar de la idea d'una tecnologia possible, una cosa que no fos blanca ni negra, sinó un terme mig, que pogués prendre forma de gas o de líquid. Em vaig obsessionar amb la idea de desdibuixar el perímetre del cos, de manera que no es veiés on acabava la pell i on començava l'entorn. Vaig establir el meu estudi al Districte Vermell i no parava d'embolicar-me amb tubs per trobar una manera de redefinir la pell i crear aquest teixit dinàmic. Em van presentar Robyn, l'estrella del pop sueca, que també explorava la coexistència de la tecnologia i l'emoció humana pura. Ella parlava de les plomes noves, de la pintura facial, del punk, de com ens identifiquem amb el món i vam fer aquest vídeo musical. Em fascina pensar què passa quan fusionem la biologia amb la tecnologia. Recordo haver llegit alguna cosa sobre la capacitat de reprogramar la biologia, en el futur, i evitar les malalties i l'envelliment. I vaig pensar en aquest concepte. Imagineu que poguéssim reprogramar la nostra olor corporal, modificar-la i millorar-la biològicament, i com això canviaria la manera de comunicar-nos amb els altres o d'atreure parelles sexuals. Tornaríem a comportar-nos més com animals, a formes de comunicació més primitives? Vaig treballar amb un biòleg sintètic i vaig crear un perfum oral, que és una píndola cosmètica que s'ha d'ingerir i després la fragància s'allibera pels porus de la pell en transpirar. Això transforma per complet la manera d'entendre el perfum i li dóna un nou format. És un perfum que va des de dins cap a fora. Redefineix el paper de la pell i el cos es converteix en un atomitzador. He après que no hi ha límits i si observo l'evolució del meu treball, veig fils i connexions que tenen sentit. Però si miro cap al futur, el següent projecte és totalment desconegut i indefinit. Sento com si totes aquestes idees existissin al meu interior, i són aquestes converses i experiències les que connecten les idees, que afloren instintivament. Com a arquitecta corporal, he creat aquesta plataforma il·limitada per descobrir el que jo vulgui i sento com si tot just acabés de començar. Aquest és un altre dia a l'oficina. (Rialles) (Aplaudiments) Gràcies! Gràcies!
I call myself a body architect. I trained in classical ballet and have a background in architecture and fashion. As a body architect, I fascinate with the human body and explore how I can transform it. I worked at Philips Electronics in the far-future design research lab, looking 20 years into the future. I explored the human skin, and how technology can transform the body. I worked on concepts like an electronic tattoo, which is augmented by touch, or dresses that blushed and shivered with light. I started my own experiments. These were the low-tech approaches to the high-tech conversations I was having. These are Q-tips stuck to my roommate with wig glue. (Laughter) I started a collaboration with a friend of mine, Bart Hess -- he doesn't normally look like this -- and we used ourselves as models. We transformed our apartments into our laboratories, and worked in a very spontaneous and immediate way. We were creating visual imagery provoking human evolution. Whilst I was at Philips, we discussed this idea of a maybe technology, something that wasn't either switched on or off, but in between. A maybe that could take the form of a gas or a liquid. And I became obsessed with this idea of blurring the perimeter of the body, so you couldn't see where the skin ended and the near environment started. I set up my studio in the red-light district and obsessively wrapped myself in plumbing tubing, and found a way to redefine the skin and create this dynamic textile. I was introduced to Robyn, the Swedish pop star, and she was also exploring how technology coexists with raw human emotion. And she talked about how technology with these new feathers, this new face paint, this punk, the way that we identify with the world, and we made this music video. I'm fascinated with the idea of what happens when you merge biology with technology, and I remember reading about this idea of being able to reprogram biology, in the future, away from disease and aging. And I thought about this concept of, imagine if we could reprogram our own body odor, modify and biologically enhance it, and how would that change the way that we communicate with each other? Or the way that we attract sexual partners? And would we revert back to being more like animals, more primal modes of communication? I worked with a synthetic biologist, and I created a swallowable perfume, which is a cosmetic pill that you eat and the fragrance comes out through the skin's surface when you perspire. It completely blows apart the way that perfume is, and provides a whole new format. It's perfume coming from the inside out. It redefines the role of skin, and our bodies become an atomizer. I've learned that there's no boundaries, and if I look at the evolution of my work i can see threads and connections that make sense. But when I look towards the future, the next project is completely unknown and wide open. I feel like I have all these ideas existing embedded inside of me, and it's these conversations and these experiences that connect these ideas, and they kind of instinctively come out. As a body architect, I've created this limitless and boundless platform for me to discover whatever I want. And I feel like I've just got started. So here's to another day at the office. (Laughter) (Applause) Thank you! Thank you!