PEDRO ALVES DA VEIGA

(Portugal)

PEDRO ALVES DA VEIGA - is a Portuguese transdisciplinary artist and scholar. He holds a degree in Computer Science (Nova University of Lisbon), a Post-graduation in Advanced Studies of Digital Media Art (Aberta University) and a PhD in Digital Media Art (Aberta University and University of Algarve). After a two-decade business career in web-design and information systems, including the launch and sale of two IT companies and several multimedia and web-design awards, he is currently a Professor at the Aberta University, in Lisbon, where he is also the subdirector of the Digital Media Arts PhD programme. His research interests include new media artivism, new media curatorship, and the impacts of the experience, attention and ubiquity economies in new media art ecosystems. He develops his work through creative programming, mixed media assemblage, multimedia generative systems, supported by theoretical work on a/r/cography – a digital arts based creative methodology. His artworks are an investigation into representations of facts and situations as well as depictions of ideals and interventions, optimally materialised through media art. They demand and shatter the audience's attention, metaphorically expressing his intentions through aesthetics and technology, while letting the audience freely interpret and build the narrative through sensorial exposure, interaction and exploration. His artworks have been exhibited in Portugal, Brazil, Spain, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Russia, China, Thailand and the USA.

4-1S  ALCHIMIA - Pedro Alves da Veiga  1ª SESSÃO | 1st SESSION

IMAGE PLAY ► International Video Art Festival - VI Edition 2024 (Funchal, Madeira - Portugal)

CREDITS:

Pedro Alves da Veiga  Director

Processing 3.0, mixed media

SYNOPSIS:

ALCHIMIA. A mysterious or inexplicable transmutation, an apparently magical process of transformation, creation, or combination. In a world where cameras are omnipresent, our relationship with our digital representation is often reduced to the selfie, prepared like a mirror in which we project a controlled vision of our "self," with pose, lighting, and expression adjusted for sharing. Alchimia is an interactive installation that accentuates this relationship by focusing exclusively on the observer's face. This face becomes the centre of attention, regardless of its spatial position relative to the system, but that position influences other parameters of the representation and transmutation. Alchimia explores our relationship with "the other" and transforms the observer's face, altering its expression, gender, applying masks, and making the features diffuse, masculine, feminine, young, or old. The work calls for an exaggerated expressiveness, encouraging the search for multiple "selves" that transcend the composure of the selfie, exploring various possible expressions and identities. The soundtrack of Alchimia is generated in real-time and accentuates the crescendo of the work, leading to an oracular revelation that culminates each cycle. The video art version of this installation is a real-time capture of a system execution with the author as the source of interaction.

 TÍTULO - TITLE              DURAÇÃO - TIME           ANO - YEAR           PAÍS - COUNTRY              FORMATO - FORMAT

              3X0šAMáN                             06'21''                            2024                       (Portugal)                                 16:9                                                                                                             

4-2S 3X0šAMáN  - Pedro Alves da Veiga  2ª SESSÃO | 2st SESSION

IMAGE PLAY ► International Video Art Festival - VI Edition 2024 (Funchal, Madeira - Portugal)

CREDITS:

Pedro Alves da Veiga  Director 

Processing 4.0, mixed media

SYNOPSIS:

3X0šAMáN (pronounced exo-shaman) is a study on the transformative power of a generative system, turning an ordinary person into a digital shaman. This artwork leverages the capabilities of advanced computational techniques to capture and manipulate the images of an individual standing in front of a computer equipped with a webcam. As these images are transformed into a geometrical, psychedelic flow of triangles and lines, the visual representation transcends the ordinary, creating an immersive and otherworldly experience. This process not only creates the artwork's visual aesthetics but also has a profound impact on the psychological and emotional state of the interactor. The generative system's dynamic and fluid visuals serve as a mirror, reflecting and fostering a transformed and supernatural version of the individual. This reflection compels the person to engage with their new digital identity, exploring and embracing the role of the shaman within this virtual performance. The interplay between the self and its digital counterpart creates a powerful feedback loop, where the boundaries between the real and the virtual blur, leading to a unique form of self-exploration and expression. The video art version is a real time capture of a runtime performance with the author.