Proxies

Dreamy, blurred photo of movement artists dancing together. The photo has a green-blue tinge to it; four dancers are fully in the frame and are in pairs of two people holding hands.
Photo by Malakhai Pearson / ArtLab at Harvard University

Developed during Pillow Lab residencies in 2018 and 2023, Proxies draws on research into loneliness, data privacy, and the ethics of care. Vidrin invites the audience to consider what technology can and cannot capture about how we relate to ourselves, one another, and the world around us.

Dancers wear custom-designed sensors on their hands and feet—technology that tracks and surfaces the subtle and often invisible give-and-take of physical connection. The data flows in real time to musicians, who use material from Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 to respond to the movement they see, creating a continuous loop of responsiveness.

In a world where connection is increasingly mediated by screens and sensors, Proxies puts bodies front and center—exploring what technology reveals and what slips through.