2. Digital bodies¶

Research & Ideation¶

Digital bodies refer to virtual representations, data-driven selves, or AI avatars existing in digital realms, encompassing everything from digital art and avatars in XR/AI to personalized "human twins" in medicine, exploring how technology redefines embodiment, identity, and interaction, moving beyond physical limitations into new forms of existence and experience.

Key Concepts & Types:

• Virtual Avatars/Digital Humans: AI-driven, realistic virtual characters used for communication, customer service, and immersive experiences in AR/VR.

• Digital Twins (Health): Virtual replicas of human health states (cells, organs) used for research, diagnosis, and personalized medicine.

• Data-Driven Selves: The digital footprint we leave through online activity, self-tracking, and surveillance, forming a computational version of our physical selves.

• Embodied Digital Art: Artistic creations that use digital tools (3D design, performance) to explore the body, self, and technology, challenging traditional views of embodiment.

• Techno-Shamanism: Practices using technology (VR, digital interfaces) to access altered states of consciousness, connecting digital and spiritual realms.

Applications & Implications:

• Healthcare: Virtual human twins for simulating diseases and testing treatments.

• Fashion & Design: Digital tools for designing and customizing garments based on body scans.

• Arts & Performance: New mediums for exploring identity, embodiment, and human-computer interaction.

• Business & Society: AI-driven digital humans transforming customer interaction and work.

• Identity: Questions about how our digital representations influence our sense of self and reality.

References & Inspiration¶

My Digital Bodies assignment has been inspired by David Černý’s Kafka Head and Tokujin Yoshioka’s mannequins for Issey Miyake. Černý’s kinetic sculpture, composed of rotating metallic layers, evokes a body that is perpetually assembling and disassembling. This notion of a subject in flux resonated with my interest in digital bodies as systems rather than fixed forms—bodies shaped by data, motion, and algorithmic logic.

Left image: David Černý’s Kafka Head
Right image: David Černý’s Lilith

Cerny's website

In contrast, Yoshioka’s mannequins introduce an opposing yet complementary sensibility: an ethereal body defined by transparency, lightness, and the intimate relationship between material and movement. His work dissolves the boundary between body and garment, suggesting a presence that is almost immaterial. By bringing these two influences together, my assignment explores the digital body as a hybrid entity—simultaneously mechanical and poetic—where the rigidity of structure coexists with softness, impermanence, and transformation.

Tools & Materials¶

Scaniverse mobile app
- 3mm cardboard sheets
- Laser cutter
- Slicer for Fusion 360
Glue: Resistol 850

Process and workflow¶

3D Scanning¶

I used Scaniverse App on my phone to scan my cat, using the mesh option for small objects, then I saved it and uploaded the file. Then I used Slicer for Fusion 360 to open the file and slice it.

Slicing¶

I downloaded a human head file from thingiverse and sliced it using the Slicer for Fusion 360. I selected the radial slices technique, and the slice distribution method by count dividing the head in 23 parts.

The commands I used were import to get the file, then select the construction technique, rotated the object with a notch angle of 45 degrees. The object size: height: 16cm, width:20 cm, and lenght: 13 cm. Finally, I used the get plans button, select the file type as .pdf and exported the file to be sent to the laser cutter.