Cortege

Cortege is a somatic work of art that uses smartphone technology to act on the social body. Half alternate reality game, half happening, Cortege offers an experience that is initially solitary, in which an automated system bids each person to abandon their individual reservations in order to join a collective impetus whose purpose remains hidden. Cortege proposes an experience that draws on the participatory and performing practice in contemporary art, on the immersive aspects of digital arts and utilizes certain game art mechanics. This work of art thrusts participants into an immersive soundscape infiltrated by artificial voices whispering commands in an effort to temporarily take control of their lives. These voices, in the manner of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, lead the members of Cortege in a procession through the city streets.