Stelarc: Body Art Pioneer on Prosthetics, Risk, and the Future of the Human Body

Stelarc, born in Limassol in 1946, is a pioneering Body Art figure active since the 1970s. In an exclusive interview at Palazzo delle Esposizioni in Rome during the Romaeuropa Festival's Digitalife 2017, he discussed his past, present, and future projects. His work explores physiological and psychological limits through suspension events and technological implants, aiming to redefine the obsolete human body with advanced prosthetics. A key project, Ear on Arm, involved implanting an ear on his arm to create a remote listening device. He nearly lost his arm due to a severe infection from a microphone implant but accepts such risks as part of performance art. Stelarc envisions bodies distributed and connected across spaces, potentially eliminating deterioration and death through replaceable parts. He has considered plastination of his corpse as a museum sculpture or creating an avatar for posthumous interaction. His Prosthetic Head avatar, with a database of his knowledge, already delivers lectures. He finds inspiration in Rome's historical monuments juxtaposed with modern performance. The interview was conducted by Donatella Giordano.