Abstract

Expanded cinema was proposed in 1970 by Gene Youngblood as a counterpoint to the growing consumption of commercial entertainment cinema, which, in the author’s view, fails to offer content that fosters reflection on the bond between the individual and their surrounding environment. Art has the power to provoke such cogitation in its audience, and cinema, as an artistic medium, can be a valuable tool. The multidisciplinary nature of expanded cinema allows it to draw upon tools from various art fields, with a particular focus in this study on the performing arts and game design. Our art-based research involves the development, exhibition, and study of a small number of artworks that free film from its conventional screen and the audience from their common passive role. We use mixed-reality technologies to expand the boundaries of the traditional screen, allowing the audience and the artwork to share the same metaphysical space. Each artwork incorporates darkplay, in the provocative exploration of the audience’s lack of knowledge about all of the artwork’s dimensions and functioning. However, the audience’s participation and agency allow them to uncover these, potentially leading them to reconsider the consequences of their actions within the spatial and temporal boundaries of the artworks. This reflective stance can be seen as a metaphorical representation of the human life experience, guiding its audience through considerations about their surrounding relationships, and offering a new dimension to the expansion of the artwork.