Ars Electronica Garden Bangkok

Unnatural Language: Botanic Quartet

Scott Kildall - Xenoform Labs (US), Michael Ang (CA)

Botanic Quartet is a generative musical composition by four plants endemic to Thailand. The results constitute a sort of ecospheric sentience as the plants don’t only respond to the sensed data, but communicate it to each other. This is a project under the umbrage of Unnatural Language, an ongoing collaboration between Scott Kildall and Michael Ang. Scott Kildall has been working with art, technology and education for over 15 years, looking at the interplay between territory and technology.

MESSE: Molecular Encoding Storage for Space Exploration

Spaceth.co (TH)

MESSE is an anti-disciplinary payload aboard the New Shepard spacecraft, launched into a sub-orbital trajectory 100 kilometers above, and explores weightlessness in the space environment. The payload contains bio-synthetically created DNA encoding “Kwam-Fhan-Kab-Chakarawan” (Aspiration and the Universe), a famous Thai song by artist Bodyslam, to demonstrate the algorithm that can encode and decode data into DNA. The science experiment will be conducted both before and after the spaceflight to study the products of DNA assembling in space and its preservation on several sample materials. This will allow the researchers to understand the possibility of DNA storage as a form of preserving knowledge or sending any data in the form of a molecular encoding message. This mission represents aspects of science and humanity and guidelines for future citizen space exploration in Thailand.

Making of Lunar Pearl

Henryandpartners (TH), SpaceZab (TH)

Pearl of Lunar explores infrastructural desire and the future of Belt-and-Road Initiatives as seen through wealth accumulation, labor infiltration, and geopolitical control; but also, more ephemerally, the affective meshwork of possessiveness and greed that functions at the individual and corporate level. Lunar Rock is a project by SpaceZab, a group of young scientists’ journey into Trad city, a rocky seaside landscape. They wade through rocks and the oceanside, excavating magmatic rock from the shore and the sea. The quest is to discover earth elements resembling moon dust for their future research and experiments.

Garlic Med.Eat.Ation

Jennifer Katanyoutanant (US/TH), Grace Cong Xin Wong - Art Farm (US/HK), Zden Brungot Svíteková (SK)

The first chapter in our continuing Remote Intimacy series, Garlic Med. Eat. Ation creates sensory solidarity by exploring how intimacy can be shared remotely/virtually through touch and taste. Please bring a clove of garlic to experience the exhibit.