In Betweenness

In Betweenness reimagines Ciung Wanara as an interactive audiovisual performance structured through an agentic cybernetic system. During the performance, I perform through one virtual character, while its counterpart operates as an autonomous agent that responds to and challenges my actions. A machine-perception layer, implemented through YOLO-based computer vision, observes both virtual characters and tracks their movements, interactions, and spatial relationships. This embodied performance data is then interpreted by an LLM-based agent conditioned on narrative materials from Ciung Wanara. Rather than simply retelling a predetermined story, the interpretive agent constructs an evolving narration in response to the behaviours emerging between the human-directed and autonomous characters.

The system connects human agency, autonomous behaviour, machine perception, and narrative interpretation through a continuous feedback loop. The resulting data and interpretation shape the visual and sonic processes in real time, while an underlying composed audio layer provides a stable musical ground. These audiovisual responses subsequently influence my next actions as a performer. The work explores how human and artificial intelligences perceive, interpret, and act upon one another during performance. It asks whether narrative and musical agency can emerge from the space between embodied intention, autonomous response, and machine interpretation.