Maquette
Lisa Jamhoury
Maquette is a hybrid physical-virtual performance combining motion capture, contemporary circus, and gaming technology to explore how the human body is perceived, interpreted, and reimagined by both the physical and the programmed eye. Orchestrated, captured, and rendered in real time, each performance is unique, providing Maquette’s audience with a never-before-seen experience. Inspired by research in figurative sculpture, design principles, and algorithmic bias, Maquette unfolds across six scenes simultaneously in physical and virtual space.
The performance begins by examining how art, science, and technology can create false ideals and perpetuate social bias when left unchecked, then evolves to explore how virtual representation can authentically reflect the nuance of human physiology through contemporary research in embodied cognition. Central to this exploration is the unsettling legacy of Norma—a 1940s statue created by American gynecologist Robert Dickinson. Constructed from the averaged measurements of 15,000 white women aged 21-25, Norma's 'ideal body' was celebrated by prominent scientific and cultural institutions, demonstrating how physical standardization becomes embedded within social structures.
Supported by immersive projection, spatial audio, and high-performance motion tracking, four performers marry ballet, circus, martial arts, bboying, and yoga asana together in a new movement style, forming kaleidoscopic shapes as their bodies converge. Maquette is a sensory-rich celebration of presence and embodiment that reveals how cellular depth can ripple across cores, pins, and bytes.
Project Collaborators:
Maquette is created by Lisa Jamhoury, produced by Media Art Xploration, and supported by EY Intelligent Realities Lab, NEW INC / New Museum, Onassis ONX, and OptiTrack. Maquette features Choreography and Performance by Hybrid Movement Company, Françoise Voranger, Grasshopper Mitch, Andrea Nikki Ortiz, Graham Reese; 3D Modeling by Woraya Boonyapanachoti, Lisa Jamhoury, Rongyu Li, Guðjón Örn Lárusson, NYCAP3D; Unreal Engine Development by Sneha Belkhale, Kevin Peter He, Lisa Jamhoury, Matt Romein, Yilin Zhang; Unreal Engine Development and Technician by Christopher Strawley; Motion Capture Technician, Animation by Lisa Jamhoury, Isabella Heron (MAXlive); Audio Concept and Script by Lisa Jamhoury; Audio Effects by Nicholas de la Motte; Audio Engineer by Matt McCorkle; Dramaturg by Emily Reilly; Storyboard Illustration by Jessica Hearn; Producer (MAXlive) by Mary John Frank; Photography by Alycia Kravitz, Luis Suarez; Special Thanks to Eddie Berg, Todd Bryant / NYU IDM, Becky Schutt, Ashley Zelinskie, and Sophie Kahn.
