Mixed or Misperceived Reality? Flusserian Media Freedom through Surreal Me

Aven-Le Zhou; Lei Xi; Kang Zhang

doi:10.1145/3689050.370599

Mixed or Misperceived Reality? Flusserian Media Freedom through Surreal Me

Aven-Le Zhou
, Lei Xi
, Kang Zhang^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)

Research output: Chapter in Book or Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Proceeding › peer-review

Abstract

This paper delves into Vilém Flusser’s critique of media as mediators that distort the human perception of reality and diminish freedom, particularly within the Mixed Reality context, i.e., Misperceived Reality. It introduces a critical inquiry through Surreal Me, which engages participants to experience a two-phase virtual embodying process and reveal the “Misperceived Reality.” The process examines the obfuscating nature of media; as the Sense of Embodiment inevitably breaks down, users can discover the constructed nature of media-projected reality. When users reflect on reality’s authentic and mediated experiences in MR, this work fosters a critical discourse on Flusserian media freedom addressing emerging immersive technologies.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	TEI '25
Subtitle of host publication	Proceedings of the Nineteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction
Publisher	Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Pages	1-9
Number of pages	9
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3689050.370599
Publication status	Published - 4 Mar 2025
Externally published	Yes

Access to Document

10.1145/3689050.370599

1 Paper
1 Digital, Visual or Audio-visual Creative Work

Surrealism Me: Interactive Virtual Embodying Experiences in Mixed Reality
Zhou, A.-L., 20 Aug 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) p. 1-4. 4 p.
Research output: Contribution to conference › Paper

Open Access
Surrealism Me (2021-2023)
Zhou, A.-L., 2023, (Accepted/In press)
Research output: Practice-based research output › Digital, Visual or Audio-visual Creative Work › Original creative work: Visual art work

Open Access

1 Participating in an event e.g. a conference, workshop, …

The 19th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI) 2025
Zhou, A.-L. (Participant)
4 Mar 2025 → 7 Mar 2025
Activity: Participating in or organising an event › Participating in an event e.g. a conference, workshop, …

Cite this

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title = "Mixed or Misperceived Reality? Flusserian Media Freedom through Surreal Me",

abstract = "This paper delves into Vil{\'e}m Flusser{\textquoteright}s critique of media as mediators that distort the human perception of reality and diminish freedom, particularly within the Mixed Reality context, i.e., Misperceived Reality. It introduces a critical inquiry through Surreal Me, which engages participants to experience a two-phase virtual embodying process and reveal the “Misperceived Reality.” The process examines the obfuscating nature of media; as the Sense of Embodiment inevitably breaks down, users can discover the constructed nature of media-projected reality. When users reflect on reality{\textquoteright}s authentic and mediated experiences in MR, this work fosters a critical discourse on Flusserian media freedom addressing emerging immersive technologies. ",

author = "Aven-Le Zhou and Lei Xi and Kang Zhang",

year = "2025",

month = mar,

day = "4",

doi = "10.1145/3689050.370599",

language = "English",

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publisher = "Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)",

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Mixed or Misperceived Reality? Flusserian Media Freedom through Surreal Me. / Zhou, Aven-Le; Xi, Lei; Zhang, Kang.
TEI '25: Proceedings of the Nineteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction. Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), 2025. p. 1-9.

Research output: Chapter in Book or Report/Conference proceeding › Conference Proceeding › peer-review

TY - GEN

T1 - Mixed or Misperceived Reality? Flusserian Media Freedom through Surreal Me

AU - Zhou, Aven-Le

AU - Xi, Lei

AU - Zhang, Kang

PY - 2025/3/4

Y1 - 2025/3/4

N2 - This paper delves into Vilém Flusser’s critique of media as mediators that distort the human perception of reality and diminish freedom, particularly within the Mixed Reality context, i.e., Misperceived Reality. It introduces a critical inquiry through Surreal Me, which engages participants to experience a two-phase virtual embodying process and reveal the “Misperceived Reality.” The process examines the obfuscating nature of media; as the Sense of Embodiment inevitably breaks down, users can discover the constructed nature of media-projected reality. When users reflect on reality’s authentic and mediated experiences in MR, this work fosters a critical discourse on Flusserian media freedom addressing emerging immersive technologies.

AB - This paper delves into Vilém Flusser’s critique of media as mediators that distort the human perception of reality and diminish freedom, particularly within the Mixed Reality context, i.e., Misperceived Reality. It introduces a critical inquiry through Surreal Me, which engages participants to experience a two-phase virtual embodying process and reveal the “Misperceived Reality.” The process examines the obfuscating nature of media; as the Sense of Embodiment inevitably breaks down, users can discover the constructed nature of media-projected reality. When users reflect on reality’s authentic and mediated experiences in MR, this work fosters a critical discourse on Flusserian media freedom addressing emerging immersive technologies.

U2 - 10.1145/3689050.370599

DO - 10.1145/3689050.370599

M3 - Conference Proceeding

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EP - 9

BT - TEI '25

PB - Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)

ER -

Mixed or Misperceived Reality? Flusserian Media Freedom through Surreal Me

Abstract

Access to Document

Research output

Surrealism Me: Interactive Virtual Embodying Experiences in Mixed Reality

Surrealism Me (2021-2023)

Activities

The 19th International Conference on Tangible, Embedded and Embodied Interaction (TEI) 2025

Cite this