Project Taikang Space, Beijing
Phi
Location: Taikang Space Terrace Project, Beijing, China
Duration: 2018.10.13 - 11.17
Artists: Wenxin Zhang x Jing Yu
Curator: Chelsea Liu
Art Director: Tang Xin
In this project, we hope to transform the terrace into a multi-level composite spaces. By constructing the sound installations on the external space of the building, the neural information network inside the human brain is mapped in parallel. The audience are invited to interact with some of the materials to participate in the generation of sounds. Walking on to the terrace, the audience can wander through several columnar structures and a greenhouse-like transparent plastic tent. This “inside” and “outside” traveling renders an experiential interchange, producing voids and loops.
The whole project consists of four installations: starting from black and white binary chess pieces; to the process of audio interpreting neurons in the human brain after being stimulated, exchanging electric charges and craving for stronger stimulation; and then to a vivid “algorithm” instrument - participants can turn on sensors referring to six common neurohormones to trigger computer auto-composition of music. Finally, the audience come to a hemispherical greenhouse simulating the neurologist’s hypothesis of the mechanism of human brain, that is, the brain consists of three layers of structures from the inside out, and also the “human-machine coupled brain layer” that could be realized in the near future. Each layer is connected to the sounding device in different ways, such as circuits and plant humidity sensors. The entire project progresses in layers, emphasizing the interaction and communication between the audience’s body with machine and sound.
The inspiration for the title comes from the commonly used symbol Phi (Φ) in mathematics and neuroscience. It is a constant of the golden section, and also a necessary value for judging the complexity of the system in cognitive neuroscience and also whether it will produce “consciousness.” “Phi” is a clue that can always be found in a system from simple to complex.
More Pictures:
Facebook
Instagram
WeChat 微信