In Machine Learning, Latent Space is an abstract n-dimensional space where learned information is mapped onto. One can then navigate the in-between of these points. This could be representative of Queer existences in a heteronormative world. Queer lives are the in-between which defy fixed and oppressive structures, degrading Western conceptions of what identity and bodies can be.

Language controls narratives of (state-sanctioned) oppression and also works as an indicator of belonging to a specific social group, thus becoming a tool of safety. With language as a tool for self-determination, the “common people” are able to take back some power to revolt against institutional and political violence that actively thwarts and denies our existences. In the Queer community, one can find many efforts to create a lexicon that reflects non-normative existences: Irish is being revived with new vocabulary; in Libya, an Arabic-based Queer sublanguage arises with the specific intent to avoid appropriating Western words, a clear decolonial attitude. But language is flawed and reifies - that is, it treats a complex idea (or being) as a somewhat well-defined “thing”. It is erroneous by nature. Perhaps to properly capture the complexities of human identity, non-human entities need to come into play.

A tiny speaker is placed inside my mouth and a tiny microphone in front of the lips. As they feedback, the tones are modulated by the shape of the mouth cavity, tongue, teeth and throat - emulating how speech is produced. This feedback - along wth soft vocalizations, "phonetic utterances" and breath - feed an AI system that has been trained on my own talking voice, creating a sound output somewhat analogous to speech - what I call para-speech, “para” meaning besides. A custom-coded device also processes the vocalic input by separating consonant-adjacent from vowel-adjacent sounds. The former is processed further.

The digital age has brought a myriad of revolutions. Perhaps the most important one is being able to engage, interact and witness people from afar, whose physical bodies we will probably never see. As we try to find the words to describe the bodies of people whose personhoods are as diverse as the amount of people on earth, I ponder if we can accurately describe the complexity of a single human's personhood with our vocal cavity as it is now - with many limitations due to biological constraints. It's worth considering a hybrid bio-digital vocal tract that embraces the elasticity of digital media so as to find new vocabulary that encapsulates the multitudes of personhoods within us. Latent Space/Body: throat speculates an un-spoken language for un-sounding throats that utter un-definable ideas.

This piece had a first tryout at STROMING programmed by BART at Grand Theatre, Groningen. The current version was premiered in Salon of Queer Indoctrinations #4 - Posthumanism programmed by Elio Troulakis at WORM, Rotterdam. Photo by RADVLAD Multimedia.