Bunrakuraku

Bunrakuraku is a new interactive project from SaBa, exploring the intersection of technology, participation, and puppetry. Taking inspiration from international styles of puppet theater, ranging from Japanese Bunraku to Punch and Judy, this work explores the intersection of audience and puppeteer―with a few extra limbs included. Bunrakuraku connects audiences from separate locations into a virtual, puppet theater space. Limbs appear and disappear, each controlled by a different audience member. In this space, an individual’s movements and actions are combined to form a single multi-limbed puppet. Here, people are encouraged to playfully engage with an unseen collaborator.

SaBa is a series of collaborative projects created by Sam Sheffield & Barry Whittaker. Currently based in Baltimore, MD and Toledo, OH, Sam & Barry develop interactive work inspired by a variety of media ranging from Japanese television and history to internet memes and game theory.