Project Contemporary Artspace

Children of Zoran

Series One- Children of Zoran

© Chi-Hou Lung

This series of works utilises an extract of “Sense of Big Bang” as an epicentre to relay the overall imagery. The other four sets of static images are sub-imagery serving as extensions, so as to emphasise the dynamic core image, hence providing images of traditional form available for gazing, to generate a complete linked consciousness. In addition, this type of presentation method also implies that every static image can be vitalised as the core image “Sense of Big Bang”, embodying the dynamics of the hyperbody.

This is a trend of perceptual development, We have all become cyborgs and joined a virtual network system. The user’s new perceived body will be built up gradually by the process of projection and feedback of consciousness in virtual space, and the mental part will be extended and cruise within the network system. One thought brings about thousands of ideas, which intertwine with a feeling of fullness that streams everywhere. It may be said that a new species is born.

© Chi-Hou Lung

Series Two- The depth of superficiality

What is presented in these series of works is the refined reality arising from the virtual world, a conglomerate of cognitive experience with a concrete consciousness connection. Only the superficial remains after the de-materialisation of an environmental object; yet it still radiates on-the-spot experience directed from real space.

Piece by piece of semi three-dimensional objects represent environmental samples extracted from the virtual life of a not so distant future. Media, the representation of superficial layer, have always been able to only present one surface of the target, just like how our skin represents the whole of our body. Although these superficial layers of media cannot completely exemplify the physical world, there is no doubt that these layers conjure a semblance of flesh and blood. An experiential space where imaginative connections can be easily extended under the premise of the superficial layer governed only by an information structure, and is capable of generating a new world structure, will replace the incumbent perspective on all fronts, thus elevating the way we define objects.

Return of the Fantastic Creatures From Ancient China to the Virtual Age

My art project is divided into two parts: “discovering” the virtual fossils of the One-Horned Human, and the Dragon of Internet.

The Concept of the Dragon of Internet

© Chien-Yao Wang

All creatures need life systems to maintain the basic structures of their existence. Therefore I start by creating the Dragon of Internet that serves as a symbol to represent how people are increasingly relying on the Internet for their “life blood.” This creature feeds on two different kinds of energies: the energy from the Internet network and the energy of the viewer’s beating heart as they interact with the virtual heart. This system can be a model to symbolize the infinite web/circulatory system that now sustains the relationship between humans and the Internet. As a consequence, when viewers/users interact with this art project, they need to provide their vital energies in order to keep alive (vampire-like) the art project. In this case, audiences can combine their own physical presence and emotions with those of the virtual creatures. In other words, they exist within this art project and simultaneously become a part of the artwork.

The concept of One-Horned Human

©Chien-Yao Wang

The inspiration for The One-Horned Human is from two characters from the ancient Chinese book Shan Hai Ching: one has long hands and the other has long legs. Working together they are able to adjust to their changing environment and survive. The One-Horned Human ancestors are a group of modern humans who have evolved to survive on the Internet in cyberspace. They are thirsty for online experiences, and prefer to spend most of their time in virtual space. In the beginning they tried to use computers as an interface to connect the Internet, and then they evolved to use an implanted horn that could connect their brains directly to wireless signals. Finally, their heads evolved to become a direct interface between the Internet and the actual world. In other words, the One-Horned Human receives signals via a new sensory organ. At this moment the One-Horned Human was born.

It is thought the One-Horned Human first evolved between 2100 AD to 2200 AD. After that period of time, they seem to suddenly die out for some as yet unexplained reason. Therefore we can only trace their existence through the fossil record seen in this gallery exhibit. However, it is also thought that perhaps they were finally successful in their desire to fully cross into the virtual world and now live somewhere deep in the digital jungles of cyberscape.