C-LAB’s experimental exhibition and performance project – FUTURE VISION LAB, presents a digital and experimental dome-shaped site to nurture interdisciplinary and experimental talent and provide creators with a platform for showing their content creations. In the past three years, FUTURE VISION LAB has showcased nearly one hundred works. This year, the organizer of the project, Technology Media Platform, enhances the previous scale and launches an upgraded, movable DOME, which has an internal diameter of 15 meters and a capacity to house more than one hundred people. After several iterations of developing the DOME’s audiovisual software and hardware, the organizer has been able to overcome various challenges presented by complicated techniques, such as image warping, edge blending, mapping, play control, and video pre-production. The upgraded DOME is equipped with a 25.2-channel immersive surround sound system, a double-layer configuration to conceal the equipment, a new-type projection membrane custom-made according to extensive discussions with the industry sector, and high-resolution immersive projection. So, the project has established a more comprehensive and well-equipped DOME to be integrated with artists’ content creations for further exploring the frontiers of the experimental field as well as converging more professional talent and energy of research and development. During the length of the program, the hemispherical appearance will continue to be renewed through experimenting with different materials, creating dissimilar external looks and feels during the day and night.
A Selection of Brilliant Works from Taiwan and Abroad, and the Largest Number of Works to be Screened to Date
The upgraded DOME was inaugurated at the Creative Expo Taiwan earlier this year, which dazzled the audience with the “naked-eye VR” effect with a total resolution of 10K and a powerful sound field, attracting a large number of audience who queued up to see the works. From October 14 to December 24, FUTURE VISION LAB 2023 will launch the second stage of this year’s program (2023), which brings together various sections, including “SAT Fest,” “Open Call,” “Curatorial Selection,” and “Academic Cultivation.” There will also be live performances, including interdisciplinary live performances in the “Performing Arts” section, and the “Future Vision Party” that will showcase multiple artists on the same stage. In accordance with the C-LAB Sound Festival, more experimental works will be shown as well. In total, the FUTURE VISION LAB 2023 will feature 26 artists/art groups from Taiwan and abroad, who will bring immersive works in their idiosyncratic styles. The number of works is the most to date, and the FUTURE VISION LAB 2023 will continue to lead the imagination of future vision, while responding to the experimental spirit of interdisciplinary creation.
“SAT Fest” features 7 works, and is a joint screening with the Canada-based Society for Arts and Technology (SAT), which has long devoted to dome shows. Showcasing stylistically diverse works from Canada, Germany, France, and the USA, audience can fully enjoy the rich and multifaceted film and video works created for the DOME. In “SAT Fest,” Introduction à l’économétrie (Introduction: Econometrics) by Lydia YAKONOWSKY (Canada) liberates curve lines from economic theories, and leads the audience to navigate the vibrant cosmos of data. Jacinthe.XYZ (Hyacinth.XYZ) by Sébastien LABRUNIE (France) adopts a microcosmic viewpoint to poetically reexamine small, ordinary yet wonderful things. ASTRO by Weidi ZHANG, Weilu GE and Shaoyu SU (USA) unveils an artistic imagination through the multidimensions of mechanical vision. SWARM by Maarten Isaäk DE HEER (Germany) displays the depletion and destruction of the earth caused by climate change. The Orchid and the Bee by Frances Adair MCKENZIE (Canada) celebrates the mystery of Mother Nature and the force of life. Grandma’s house by David GARDENER (Canada) tells a compelling story about memory and dementia. LABYRINTH by Sergey PROKOFYEV (Germany) reveals the least expected visual impact of space.
Open Call Works Are Screened in Multiple Sessions, Embarking on a Fantastic Journey Informed by Future Vision
The “Open Call” section selects 6 brilliant works, including Ping Sheng WU’s Aileron of Soul: DOMOUND, which weaves a narrative of sounds and images revolving around the subthemes of myth, cosmic prospecting, technology, nature, and AI. Jeremy OURY’s EXO CORTEX 2.0 explores fantastic experiences involving AI, robot, hypnotism, and digital spectacle. In Matière Première/Raw Materia, Yan BREULEUX utilizes the technology of 3D scanning to extract his own image, which is then combined with audiovisual art to create a unique feeling of immersion. In addition, the section also features three brand-new works that were not published in the Creative Expo Taiwan. These include Chinese artist Peng KE’s Topology of Material investigates the construction on a material scale, prompting the audience’s thinking about the similarities between things of different dimensions and the regular patterns in chaos. Renowned French art group 1024 architecture presents Space XY, which draws inspiration from cosmic sounds. Non-Confined Space also presents a live performance, Sounds of the Otherworld, which blends traditional symbolism and the fluid energy of contemporary improvisation.
The section of “Curatorial Selection” features 9Grid Design’s Numerous, which transforms limitless possibilities interwoven with nature and order into a visual aesthetics of abstraction, immersing the audience in audiovisual images to explore boundless mysteries and rules. NANONANO’s narrative of landscape unfurls a landscape narrative. Upon entering the unknown and dilapidated landscape, the entire world becomes tranquil, and a ruin without a clear outline is revealed. Furthermore, this section also showcases artists/art groups that have been showcased in the DOME before, including XTRUX x SHENG, Tim WEI, Chuang HO, Huang WEI x CHENG Dao-Yuan, and TSAI Chi-Hung, who will remake and represent their works of diverse types.
Interdisciplinary Experimentation and Nurturing Creative Talent, Unfolding New Artistic Horizons of the Future
In addition to screening the works, the organizer especially invites highly anticipated performing arts groups – HousePeace and Co-coism, to engage in new attempts of live performances and immersive audiovisuals. In concurrence with the C-LAB Sound Festival, the program will show experimental works in a pure sonic form. Furthermore, in order to cultivate more new talent of immersive image creation, the program has consistently planned the “Academic Cultivation” series for four years, and has once again collaborated with the Department of New Media Art, Taipei National University of the Arts and the Department of Communications Design, Shih Chien University to showcase the creative works of students. Moreover, there will be a superb “Future Vision Party” live performance by multiple audiovisual and image artists in December, along with a series of image workshops and artist talks. More details of related events will be subsequently announced on the website of C-LAB (http://clab.org.tw/). We cordially invite everyone to join and experience this celebration of future vision at C-LAB in this autumn and winter.
Program Information of FUTURE VISION LAB 2023
Dates | 2023.10.14 (Sat.) – 12.24 (Sun.)
Venue | East Lawn of C-LAB
Supervisor｜Ministry of Culture of Taiwan
Organizer ｜Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab
Executive Organizer｜Technology Media Platform
Collaborator｜Society for Arts and Technology (SAT); Department of Communications Design, Shih Chien University; Department of New Media Art, Taipei National University of the Arts
Sponsor｜Optoma Corporation