Stelarc

Biography

Stelarc’s projects explore alternative anatomical architectures. He has performed and exhibited in Japan, Korea, China, Europe, the USA, South America and Australia. He is acknowledged internationally as a pioneer in Performance and Media Arts. And also acknowledged by the Augmented Humans university research community. He has used biomedical instruments, prosthetics, robotics, virtual systems and the internet for his projects and performances. He has performed with a Third Hand, an Extended Arm, a Stomach Sculpture, industrial robot arms, 6-legged walking robots and a Prosthetic Head.  In 1995 for Fractal Flesh at “Telepolis” his body was remotely choreographed using muscle stimulation. Ping Body in 1996 and Parasite in 1997 were online performances where the body was animated by internet data. In 2006 an ear was surgically constructed on his arm. In 2016, for PICA’s “Radical Ecologies” exhibition, with the Re-Wired/Re-Mixed performance, for 6 hours every day for 5 days, he could only see with the eyes of someone on London, could only hear with the ears of someone in NY, but anyone, anywhere could access his right arm and remotely actuate it. Commissioned for the 2020 Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia, Reclining StickMan is a 9m long, 4m high robot that is algorithmically actuated and can be remotely controlled with online interactivity. In 2024, collaborating with KMD Lab, Keio University, Tokyo he performed Kyoshin at CCBT, Tokyo- an interactive performance incorporating amplified bio-signals, two sensor bracelets and a robot arm.

He has had Visiting Artist and Visiting Research positions at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh; Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham; Brunel University,  London; Ohio State University, Columbus; University of Michigan, Michigan; Curtin University, Perth; Keio University, Tokyo and the Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow. He has lectured at the Bartlett School of Architecture and the Architecture Association (AA) in London as well as given lectures in other major universities and art schools in Europe, Asia, the USA and Australia. He has been invited to give keynotes at major forums and international conferences. In 1996 he was made an Honorary Professor of Art and Robotics, Carnegie Mellon University and in 2002 was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by Monash University. In 2010 he was awarded the Ars Electronica Golden Nica Hybrid Arts Prize. In 2015 he received the Australia Council’s Emerging and Experimental Arts Award. In 2016 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Ionian University, Corfu. In 2023 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the Academy of Fine Arts, Krakow. His artwork is represented by Scott Livesey Galleries, Melbourne. His website, featuring his projects and performances – www.stelarc.org

Photo credit: Damith Herath