Given that the line between reality and virtuality seems to get blurrier as the days go by, it's perhaps not a massive surprise that Berlin based producer Laurel Halo's set to stage a performance with, and alongside, a virtual pop star as part of next year's CTM Festival in Germany.Halo's set to join forces with, as it were, with Hatsune Miku, who's described by the festival's organizers as "the ultimate pop star," for a show that illustrates what they're calling a, "performance that draws us into the multiplying realities of a 21st Century pop star, and traces the dynamics at play between fans, corporations and social desires."
Billed as Still Be Here, the show'll feature Miku, in her forever-16 guise, connecting with Halo, choreographer and visual artist Darren Johnston/Array and virtual artist LaTurbo Avedon for a project headed up by Martin Sulzer, a digital artist. It's set to be an exploration of the idea of the uncanny in relation to the notion of the topology of desire. Which means that, "Miku becomes an allegory of the commodified female body as governed by corporate regulation and normative social etiquette." As you do.Anyone intrigued by the prospect can catch Be Here Still in action at the CTM Festival on the 6th of February in Berlin. Tickets can be booked here.