Xeno-Euphoria (2025)
Single-channel Video, 4:00

Xeno-Euphoria is an experimental video that imagines the rave as a portal for queer transformation, channeling trans theorist McKenzie Wark’s notion of xeno-euphoria—a rush of alien joy born from rhythm, excess, and ecstatic becoming. Using motion capture, two digital avatars engage in a shared ritual of movement, their bodies syncing, breaking apart, and re-aligning to the bass of techno. Through this cyclical choreography, the dancers undergo physical transformations, evolving into new,
heightened forms.
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As a digital artist who uses motion capture to choreograph digital avatars, I am fascinated by the idea of xeno-euphoria—especially as it relates to seeing my own movement embodied by an alien form. In Xeno-Euphoria, I aim to recreate the energy of the rave, a space where, as a queer person, I have often felt free to express myself and become a heightened version of who I am. I see strong parallels between the experience of raving and the process of working with motion capture and digital characters. Watching my movements mapped onto a digital body creates a feeling of euphoria that’s hard to capture in words—yet Wark’s concept of xeno-euphoria comes closer than anything else I’ve encountered.