SIMULACRE / Hamza Medjehed

SIMULACRE

An improvised dance piece exploring the blurring and decay of the line between the real and the digital, driven by a real-time motion capture system that needs no suit.

2026

00:00 / 00:00

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Concept

SIMULACRE is a physical and digital exploration of the relationship between the human body and virtual space. Drawing on the philosophical work of Jean Baudrillard, the piece questions the feedback loop between our digital representations and our reality.

Digital media (television, the internet, social networks) begin by drawing on the real world. Over time, though, the real starts to align itself with those manufactured simulacra and deform accordingly: social norms, ideas of love, patterns of behaviour.

Mathilde on stage, facing the audience, arms out and elbows raised. On the screen behind her, her 3D double holds the same pose above a horizon line.

Mathilde arched backwards, one arm stretched upward. On the screen, her digital silhouette tips over a blue expanse.

Mathilde leaning sideways, arms spread in opposite directions. Her 3D double appears offset to the right of the screen, among coloured veils.

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Setup

Zero suit constraint

The camera captures the entire improvised choreography and translates it into the 3D engine instantly, with no suit and no physical marker on the performer. A rare setup in France.

Spontaneous translation

Mathilde's bodily improvisation drives the visual deformations directly and reacts to the 3D environment in real time.

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Credits and specs

Concept, real-time system: Hamza Medjehed
Dance and improvisation: Mathilde
3D: Djibril Sacko

Capture: Custom markerless optical MoCap camera
Real-time: Real-time 3D engine
Sound: Original sound design
Framework: Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation
Format: Live performance / Interactive installation
Duration: ~ 05:00 min