Sha Sha Higby - Is the Body Obsolete? A Forum

Will the human body, evolve into robots? I doubt it. I am sure the askers of that question want to shed their bodies and fly. (I shed, too.) Electronics are intricate and float above the ground in contrast to the earthiness and weight of our bodies that root us to the earth and connect us to the internal sphere. We are like a revolving cone-tree in the cosmos. " High-tech" is only one of the elements of our environment we need to survive - remember earth, air, fire, and water.

I'm sure the consumer electronics industry will try its hardest to get us to buy little and big things to make us feel dependent upon, to give us a sense that we are slowly replacing ourselves. Accessories for these contrivances will be continuously developed, and if we have the money we are game to swallow them because they are like new toys. Lust for new toys leads us into distant but present fantasies because we love to fly. I do wish, however, that each new invention be tested for its ecological toxicity and, perhaps, be biodegradable in 50 years or so.

How can I be part of both worlds at once? Participate in this approaching new world, and still safekeep the physical earthiness of my situation that is maneuvering this blood-filled vehicle that is my body mixed and composed of elements of the earth? "Earth, oh, earth, let me dissolve into you."

I am looking forward to the blending of high technology with physical spiritual development so we can rediscover how extensive and intricate the spirit is. So we can fly together with our bodies, the harmonious instrument of nature that we are. We were beautifully created and designed. We already can fly.

Sha Sha Higby is a performance artist whose primary canvas is her body and her environment. She usually performs in natural settings, creating elaborate and mysterious rituals using the mask and costume techniques she learned while studying in Indonesia. -Richard Kadrey

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