Nature of Prototyping

In the face of the growing problems of the Earth resulting from intensification of human life, technology is often seen as an opportunity to help order this chaos of overproduction. However, technology is like a serpent eating its own tail. As Martin Heidegger says, “the purpose of modern technology is to remove the veil to reveal the truth; however, paradoxically, technology itself becomes a hindrance and prevents the truth from appearing.” The technology appears thus to be not a remedy, but the cause — and at the same time the consequence of the chaos. Live the Moment explores this chaos. In the never-ending game of technoculture-homeostasis, an arbiter is needed — an eye that cannot be deceived. Future Vision work can try to reflect on the impact of changes in the living environment. Transferring the technological gesture of prototyping to the area of human content and social constructs to reveal the final destination of man-made objects is the main issue of SeaDrift work. By hearing the world through the augmented colors, Voice in Sight work makes the unreal veils come true and sends our extension of senses into the distant desert. We try to observe, imagine, and establish a dialogue by way of our prototypes. Datafixation work traverses the geometric meshes’ topographies as our planet’s invisible datasphere. The Nature of Prototyping provides not solutions but reflections, and the development of technology serves to know others better.

Live the Moment

Pin-Hsien Lin (TW), Sin-Ying Bai (TW) and Yan-Sin Lin (TW)

Since most people live in an artificial environment, we often do not notice the current changes in the climate. Live the moment is an artwork that uses the interaction of VR and physical scenes to provoke people to think about their relationship with the environment at the present moment. The original artwork involves the use of the mobile platform for space exchange. At this festival, due to space constraints, we will use other forms to present the artwork.

SeaDrift

Qi Huang (TW) and Yi-Null Hong (TW)

The electronic drifters exiled from the Taiwan waters will become an extension of our senses. Slowly leaving the coast with our consciousness and perception, we try to explore the world, the unknown ocean currents, and the species that have never been annihilated before. It is said that there is a trash island in a distant place, a sea area we have never set foot on. That is our destination. SeaDrift seeks to reveal the final form of man-made objects and what they will become.

Future Vision

Hsiao-Chieh Huang (TW) and Jorjin Tech. Inc. (TW)

The Anthropocene was born, bringing glory and destruction. Through AR, people have a glimpse of a future vision, which reflects the impact of changes in the living environment and the alienation of biological variants. A new type of coexistence between humans and the environment is beginning. The artwork uses technologies of eye-tracking and gesture recognition to interactively experience virtual and real combinations, and explores future vision.

Voice in Sight

Jia-Yu Ku (TW)

Hearing-impaired people, although able to perceive sounds through their hearing aids, still have difficulty hearing clearly. When sounds cannot be fully received, everything is observed and understood visually. In this artwork, sound is transformed into waves of colors that can be displayed visually. The special device helps translate the world of auditory stimuli into visual code and presents the situation of a hearing loss through the poetry of colors and visual metaphors.

Datafixation

Patryk Lichota (PL)

We live in a schizoid data culture, an open cry of our subconscious, a desire to lose ourselves in our imagination. The links between what is physical, earthly, organic and what is imagined, speculated and virtual has become more entwined now than ever. Information spores need enormous energy resources and carry a great cost socially. In the installation, we will traverse the topographies of the geometric meshes as the invisible datasphere of our planet.

Biography

Center for Technology and Art, National Tsing Hua University – NTHU was established in Beijing in 1911 as “Tsing Hua Academy.” In 1956, it was re-established at its present location in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Since then, NTHU has developed into a comprehensive research university offering a full range of degree programs in science, technology, engineering, humanities, social sciences, management, education, and arts. It consistently ranks as the number one premier university in East Asia and is recognized as a leading incubator for future leaders.

Credits

Su-Chu Hsu (TW), Cheng-Yu Pan (TW) and Patryk Lichota (PL)

Spring Foundation
National Science and Technology Council, Taiwan, R.O.C.
Ministry of Education, Taiwan, R.O.C.