This article was taken from the December 2013 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Choy Ka Fair gives a warning: "This might hurt." He then flips a switch that sends a three-volt shock into Wired's arm, making it jump and end up in a rather unnatural angle. "I notice you're untrained. That's good. Untrained people are easier to control.
Less electricity." It's a hot summer night in Singapore and Wired's body is being calibrated by a young local artist with no formal medical training -- or any other relevant training, for that matter. The patches on your reporter's arm are connected to a 12-volt battery. Ka Fai is trying to determine how much electricity he needs to control the arm movements. "It sounds scarier than it is," he says. "I talked to a doctor once and he told me that what I'm doing is safe, as long as I steer clear of the heart. You don't have any heart conditions, do you?" Before there's time to answer, the 34-year-old shoots another body shock -- forcing fingers to clench into an involuntary fist.
An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Choy Ka Fai has been making waves in the Asian art scene with his show
Notion: Dance Fiction. In it, he remotely controls dancers by electrically stimulating their muscles. After five years of exploring he claims he has perfected the technology and is able to make untrained people perform basic pieces by Pina Bausch and Pichet Klunchun. "For now I have to limit myself to the upper body [for the untrained -- the dancer pictured here is trained]. Leg muscles are bigger and require so much electricity that I risk burning the tissue. Not good."
Ka Fai, who is now showcasing his work in MoMa in New York, plans to perfect the technique as an aid for choreographers. "They can use this to make their dancers experience century-old movements. It's pretty much the only commercial application I can see for this. Sure, this could make paralysed people move again. We can even use brainwaves, so all they have to do is think about a movement and it happens."
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
