Served
3-part interactive projection and XR installation
Artist: Mary Mark
2023
Artist: Mary Mark
2023
Served is a three-part installation that explores our relationship to digital human entities,examining shifting power dynamics within a combined
virtual-physical space. The audience is invited to "consume" a three-course meal by
interacting with three virtual female figures presented on individual physical plates. Drawing from feminist theories, this installation examines the continued objectification and consumption of women’s bodies, now in a virtual space. Each course presents an increasing mode of interaction with the
digital figures, which are under both literal and metaphorical "gazes":
Served 1: Non-relational and observatory. Here, an abstract projection of a female figure from a bird’s-eye view moves across the plate, inviting the audience to observe without direct interaction. Herein the woman is reduced to passive objects of visual consumption, existing primarily for an external viewer's pleasure.
Served 2: Relational awareness. In this mode, the virtual figure, displayed as a 3D “Pepper’s Ghost” hologram illusion, becomes aware of the observer’s presence. A live-streamed actress alternates between observing and being observed, playing with the audience and attempting to take back control. This interplay explores the dynamics of performative self- objectification and empowerment.
Served 3: Power dynamic and interference. In this mixed-reality experience, the observer holds power over the virtual entity, where they see the female figure dancing on the plate and have ability to interfere with her performance by ‘physically’ handling the figure. This echoes the fact that female autonomy and agency are restricted or granted by external forces.
Through these interactions, Served critiques the entrenched notions of objectification and power, encouraging viewers to recognize and reflect upon their own roles within these dynamics. The installation challenges the ways women are reduced to consumable objects, whether in visual media or physical spaces, echoing calls to disrupt these traditional power structures and reimagine new ways of relating to women and digital representations.![]()
Served 1: Non-relational and observatory. Here, an abstract projection of a female figure from a bird’s-eye view moves across the plate, inviting the audience to observe without direct interaction. Herein the woman is reduced to passive objects of visual consumption, existing primarily for an external viewer's pleasure.
Served 2: Relational awareness. In this mode, the virtual figure, displayed as a 3D “Pepper’s Ghost” hologram illusion, becomes aware of the observer’s presence. A live-streamed actress alternates between observing and being observed, playing with the audience and attempting to take back control. This interplay explores the dynamics of performative self- objectification and empowerment.
Served 3: Power dynamic and interference. In this mixed-reality experience, the observer holds power over the virtual entity, where they see the female figure dancing on the plate and have ability to interfere with her performance by ‘physically’ handling the figure. This echoes the fact that female autonomy and agency are restricted or granted by external forces.
Through these interactions, Served critiques the entrenched notions of objectification and power, encouraging viewers to recognize and reflect upon their own roles within these dynamics. The installation challenges the ways women are reduced to consumable objects, whether in visual media or physical spaces, echoing calls to disrupt these traditional power structures and reimagine new ways of relating to women and digital representations.
