At the end of the 20th century, Francis Fukuyama has worriedly pointed out that biotechnology would soon provide us with instruments in two generations to complete tasks that social engineers could never accomplish before. By then, the present form of human life would become obsolete and the history of the humankind would come to an end. When this moment comes, the civilization would begin a new history, one that moves beyond “humanity.” Along with the arrival of the digital era comes a series of changes related to social culture, geopolitics, environment and life-ethics, triggered by comprehensive and common artificial intelligence in the human world. The vastly “digitized” Weltbild (world image) constitutes the contemporary form of survival that is as historical as it is supplementary. In the meantime, the development of bio art becomes closely intertwined with biotechnology and the notion of the Anthropocene. In addition, contemporary biotechnologies have engendered a cultural effect that raises the entire society’s awareness to traditional biotechnology, in particular the success of cloning sheep, the emergence of genetically engineered food and the invention of artificial organs, bringing our attention to various controversial topics in the biotechnology industry.
The term “biotech art” has been used in many contexts nowadays. It refers to art projects featuring the interaction between art and all living organisms, denoting traditional art forms that engage in biological issues. Generally speaking, biotech art means to utilize living organisms as a creative medium for art practice, which for sure has played a part in the theorizing discourses of biotechnology. Biotech art creates a context that allows many controversial issues to be brought up. It can also enhance people’s awareness about the ethics of and political issues related to biotechnology. It even plays a crucial role of criticizing biotechnology. More importantly, through the collective participation of “art—science—technology,” biotech art is breaking down barriers that used to sharply divide different cultures.
Biotech art is undoubtedly a new and the most notable creative direction in contemporary technology art. It concentrates on the processes of shaping, manipulating and thinking about life. During this process, biotech art not only employs characteristic and materials of living organisms, changing the living organisms or the original species to generate new features, but also centers on evolutionary strategies in hope to introduce alternative viewpoints or unique concepts and produce unexpected forms and functions of byproducts previously within or separated from the organisms.
In light of the extensive integration of innovative biotechnologies and the practice of technology art toady, Fictional Life: Hybridity, Transgenetics, Innovation attempts to delineate the “hybridity” between different ecosystems, the “transgenetics” in biogenetic experiments, the “innovation” of digital technology and its application, and the mutualistic symbiosis of the three primary aspects. Furthermore, the exhibition aims to create connections with domestic and international academic circles as well as private bio art labs to explore the current situation of biotech art in Taiwan’s cultural experiment. More importantly, based on the aforesaid theme and through the dialectics of the featured artworks, the exhibition intends to discuss the symbiosis between the human race and other species through the strategies of the chimeric practice of artistic creation, innovative technologies and biotechnologies as well as interspecies hybridity, to analyze the possibility of transgenetics based on interspecies bio-experiments, and to understand the life behaviors of diverse species via the application and trials of innovative technologies. Through the exploration of these three aspects, the exhibition will construct the imagination of biotech art and its ecosystem.
Fictional Life: Hybridity, Transgenetics, Innovation
Date｜March 13, 2021 - May 23, 2021
Venue｜Taiwan contemporary Culture Lab - Art Space II, 1F、2F
Opening Hours｜11:00-18:00, Tuesday - Sunday
*During national holidays, please visit C-LAB official website for the opening hour before your visit.
*During Tomb Sweeping Day (April 2- April 5), the exhibition will remain open to the public and closed on April 6.
Curator｜Chih-Yung Aaron CHIU
Artists｜Another Farm (Japan), Arne HENDRIKS (The Netherlands), Cecilia JONSSON (The Netherlands), CHENG Hsien-Yu, CHIANG Chun-Yi, DENG Sin-Yu, ET@T, FabLab Dynamic, HO Chieh-Jui, HOU Jiun-Yi, HSU Li-Han, HUANG Zan-Lun, LIN Pei-Ying, LIN Yueh-Shiar, Paul VANOUSE (U.S.A.), Poodle∞Sphynx (HOU Chi-Ting, YANG Tzu-Yi), transpossum, WU I-Yeh,Y2K (CHOU Chiao-Chi, HU You-Yang)
*The artists’ names are listed in alphabetical order.
Exhibition Brochure: fictionallife_brochure
▌Events
For detailed information, please visit: https://clab.org.tw/project/fictional-life-events/
｜Talk｜Hidden Challenges of Social Design
Time: 3.17 (Wed.) 17:30–19:00
Venue: West i-CENTER, 2F
Speakers: Audrey TANG, LEE Po-Tin, Chih-Yung Aaron CHIU(Moderator)
｜Ｗorkshop｜Plush All Over the Body
Time: 4.11 (Sun.) 09:30–16:30
Venue: CREATORS’ Space R102 Coworking Space
Tutor: CHIANG Chun-Yi
｜Ｗorkshop｜Machine Learning for Creativity Projects
Time: 4.17 (Sat.) 14:00–17:00
Venue: CREATORS’ Space R102 Coworking Space
Tutor: CHENG Hsien-Yu
｜Expert Guide｜
Time: 3.27 (Sat.) 14:00–15:00
Venue: Meet up at West i-CENTER, 1F
Guide: Chih-Yung Aaron CHIU
Time: 5.8 (Sat.) 14:00–15:00
Venue: Meet up at West i-CENTER, 1F
Guide: LIN Ying-Tung
Supervisor｜Ministry of Culture
Organizer｜Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-LAB)
Co-Organizer｜College of Arts, National Tsing Hua University
＊Due to the spread of COVID-19, the organizer reserves the right to change, adjust or cancel the events at any time. Please visit the official website of C-LAB for the latest information about the Event Series.