“Alter Ego” questions the perception of our identity through others.
Crédits photos : Moritz Wehrmann
German artist Moritz Wehrmann is involved in research, and collaborates with other researchers to ensure that his artistic approach has an impact in the scientific world. One of his latest projects, “Alter Ego”, is the fruit of cooperation with neurophysiologist Alain Berthoz, and aims to help people with dissociative identity disorders such as schizophrenia. “Alter Ego” is proof that art and science can work together to create wonder and enlightenment. Moritz Wehrmann’s artwork will be exhibited at the Recto VRso immersive art festival on April 10-13, 2025.
Work of art or object of scientific study?
Moritz Wehrmann is an artist who explores new media. His projects tend to be conceptual and experimental, with a strong focus on artistic research. The artist has a particular interest in taking visitors into a known or unknown world, using mechanical and experimental tools. He imagined “Alter Ego” in collaboration with neurophysiology researcher and professor Alain Berthoz, from the prestigious Collège de France.
“Alter Ego” is a participatory visual installation that questions the mental and mimetic relationship between two interlocutors in dialogue. The artwork invites two participants to stand on opposite sides of a transparent screen. The screen is made of special mirrors and equipped with stroboscopic lights that alternate between bright and dark phases. Intermittently, the screen displays the reflection of both people, creating a metamorphosis between one’s own image in the mirror and the image of the other.
“Alter Ego” is the fruit of interdisciplinary cooperation in neurophysiological research. “The installation plays an important role in the basic research areas of self-other perception, and mechanisms of sympathy and empathy research and their disorders e.g. schizophrenia, autism or Alzheimer‘s desease,” explains the artist-researcher.
Psychological chaos: the loss of self
The psychological notion of alter ego is central to dissociative identity disorders. Artist Moritz Wehrmann relied on several articles and scientific studies to create his installation. It was originally designed as a medical accessory to help patients suffering from schizophrenia, autism or Alzheimer’s disease.
By confusing the two faces, the two people, the two personalities, “Alter Ego” creates an alienating feeling of isolation, loss of self, loss of identity. At the same time, participants feel deep empathy for the other. The installation reveals how our spatio-visual mechanisms are affected when we identify with a face other than our own.
In other words, our brain uses visual and body cues to orient itself and interact with the environment. When we begin to see ourselves as someone else, these cues are blurred, affecting our perception of space and our ability to interact with the outside world. It’s in this sense in particular that “Alter Ego”, as well as being an artistic process, acts as a contribution to scientific research.
Moritz Wehrmann’s experimental project is part of the official selection for the 2025 edition of the Recto VRso immersive art festival. Discover it on April 10-13, during the Laval Virtual exhibition.
