David McLellan

Biography

David McLellan is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, researcher, and educator working at the intersection of immersive experiences, interactive art, performance art, robotics, and emerging technologies. His practice addresses contemporary issues surrounding the entanglement of human bodies with technology, focusing on the interaction between humans, machines, and non-human entities. Through critical and creative methodologies, he investigates human-technology assemblages, prosthetic relationships, and the distribution of subjectivity, agency, and affect between bodies and technology. His research, combining performance studies with posthuman theory, examines how technology alters perceptions of embodiment, agency, and affective exchange, offering new insights into the hybridisation of the body with technology and the future of human-machine interactions.

Currently an AHRC-funded, practice-based PhD candidate in Performance Art at the University of Plymouth, David holds an MA in Interactive Media from the University of the Arts London and a BSc in Architecture from the University of East London. A Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, David serves as Course Leader and Senior Lecturer for BA Immersive Media and Mixed Reality at London College of Communication. Previously, he held the position of Specialist Lecturer in Virtual Reality for the ACE IT (Accelerating the Creative Economy through Immersive Technologies) initiative, an ERDF-funded project that supported London-based start-ups and SMEs in developing innovative products using immersive technologies.

With a background in architecture, audio-visual media production, and performing arts, David is engaged in fostering transdisciplinary collaborations and approaches between the arts and sciences. He has contributed to a number of research projects, including serving as a Research Assistant on the UKRI-funded Training Tomorrow project at the University of Plymouth, developing an autonomous AI training tool for actors utilising consumer wearable biosensor devices and open-source software to create accessible and inclusive training practices. He also worked as a Research Assistant on the AHRC-funded Dramaturgy and Telematic Performance project at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, developing accessible technologies for telematic performances.

David has presented at conferences and his work has been featured in various international new media festivals, including Alphaville in London, lab30 in Augsburg, SIGGRAPH Asia: Emerging Technologies in Hong Kong, and the Performing Robots Conference: Dialogues Between Theatre and Robotics in Utrecht.