Biography
The Dunhuang Apsara murals, a UNESCO World Heritage site, represent a dormant interactive interface whose original kinesthetic and ritual function is lost. Current digital heritage approaches often perpetuate this gap by focusing on static preservation. We present Algorithmic Flesh, an interactive installation that reframes this challenge through a "Ritualistic Revitalization" framework. The system employs a real-time pose estimation pipeline to translate a participant's movements—a form of "somatic prompting"—into generative murals. Crucially, the system's AI, trained on the original artworks, generates ephemeral volumetric forms—a synthetic "algorithmic flesh"—in symbiotic dialogue with the user's body. This process makes tangible the Buddhist principles of impermanence and interdependence, echoing the murals' original contemplative function. As a contribution to cultural computing, Algorithmic Flesh offers a non-Western perspective on digital heritage. It demonstrates a new methodology for intergenerational transmission through embodied human-AI interaction, shifting the goal from preservation to a living, co-interpretive ritual that fosters personal meaning-making.