Project from 2019-2021

Exhibition
2021.11.01-2021.11.30
雜草町 Grassland
Taipei, Taiwan
越有味Hương Vị Việt 餐廳
Taipei City, Taiwan

Curator:
鄧富權 Fu-Kuen Tang

Project Producer
朱筱琪Hsiao-Chi Chu
賴瑋婷 Tiffany Lay

Artist
Tuan Mami（Vietnam）
黄晨晗 Boedi Widjaja （Singarpore）​
陳業亮 Henry Tan（Thailand）
顧廣毅Kuanyi Ku（Taiwan）
雜草稍慢Weed Day（Taiwan）
​
Graphic Design：林芝宇 Zo Lin
Website Design：周書妤 Shu-yu Chou

特別感謝所有幫助計畫的工作人員與夥伴們
Special thanks to all the other people who contributed to this project!

Grant Ministry of Culture, TW
Southeast Asia Exchange Project 2019

Press Coverage: “Understanding remains key to changes in refugee situation“

Website: https://bioartasia.wixsite.com/bioart2021
Facebook Page: https://fb.com/bioartseat

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About Project

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Through the current global experience of Covid-19 pandemic, it is said that we have entered from the ‘Anthropocene’ into the era of ‘Microbiocene’. The steady development and recognition of synthetic biology mean that humans today have enlarged their capacity to understand Nature at its deepest cellular level, and can now alter, invent and Faugment the future of species and organisms. It is argued that after Artificial Intelligence, the next frontier push for human civilization (its progress and survival) will come from Synthetic Biology.

In tandem with the development of Synthetic Biology, Bio-Art also rose as a legitimate artistic practice in the global contemporary art field. It effectively brings scientists and artists together to transmit knowledge and tools and collaborate towards new possibilities.
In Europe and America, Bio-Art has flourished with government support and many institutions and laboratories with exchange projects. In Asia, Bio-Art needs a greater support system. It currently lacks regional solidarity because there is basically no platform for the meeting; for building relationships and dialogue; for workshops to exchange and experiment with new tools and information updates.
It is precise because of the COVID-19 pandemic that cross-regional artivists in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, through their practices and observations of the changes in the trajectory of contemporary society, have jointly discussed microbes, human bodies, and the social environment in various fields. Therefore, this BIO:ART SEA:T series of lectures invites interdisciplinary artists from the perspectives of biology, technology, art, environment, and social culture and more to lead the audiences to think about the transformation of human society and how to live together in the future.

當今因突如其來COVID-19的大流行，似乎訴說著社會已經從「人類世」(Anthropocene) 進入「微生物世」(Microbiocene) 的時代。合成生物學 (synthetic biology) 的穩定發展意味著當今人類社會已強化對於理解細胞最深層本質的能力，更促使改變、發明、強化各物種及生物的未來。且有人認為在人工智慧 (artificial intelligence) 之後，人類文明的下階段的前瞻發展、進步和生存，仰賴合成生物學。

隨著合成生物學的發展，生物藝術 (Bio-Art) 在全球當代藝術領域也逐漸成為具合法性的藝術實踐。這類的藝術實踐不僅將科學家和藝術界聚集，傳播相關的知識和工具，而且推進跨域合作上——新的可能。當今歐美的生物藝術，在政府的支持下蓬勃發展，許多機構和實驗室也開展各類交流。然而，在亞洲，生物藝術需發展更為強大的支持系統。現今，因缺乏區域性的團結，且無任何平台、研討會提供建立關係、對話、嘗試新技術與分享新知。
也正因為疫情的流行，東南亞與台灣跨域的行動者藉由自身的實踐，及對於當代社會運行軌跡轉變的觀察，各領域共同對微生物、人類身體、社會環境有許多討論。

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Lecture

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2021.06.24

談科學博物館裡的藝術與科學合作 The Collaboration between ART and SCIENCE in the Science Museum

This online talk is the first in a series of lectures under the BIO:ART SEA:T project. The session features artist Kuanyi Ku, one of the participating artists, as the main speaker. Using his upcoming project Bat Banquet Laboratory, which is scheduled to premiere at the Taipei Arts Festival next year, as a starting point, the talk serves as a prelude before the performance is staged. He is joined by director/artist Huang Ting-Yun (also the dramaturg of the project) and curator Lin Cheng-Wei (a member of the interdisciplinary team at the National Taiwan Science Education Center) for a panel discussion.

Bat Banquet Laboratory is a collaborative project with the Taipei Performing Arts Center and the National Taiwan Science Education Center. It attempts to stage a performing arts project within a science museum context, constructing speculative future scenarios to explore the controversial topic of consuming wild animals during the pandemic. Having long focused on collaborations between art and science, Kuo I Kuang aims in this project to challenge the authority of scientific interpretation within science museum systems, while also examining how criticality and imagination in artistic practice can open up public debates on scientific ethics.

The discussion will extend from Bat Banquet Laboratory to broader issues of art–science collaboration within science museum systems. In addition to introducing the artist’s new project, the speakers will reflect on the forms and significance of various art initiatives within science museums internationally in recent years. The conversation will address key questions: What is the purpose of art–science collaboration? How can common ground be found between two seemingly divergent fields to generate mutual benefit? And how might Taiwan and Southeast Asia develop distinct approaches—different from Western models—to explore new possibilities in art–science collaboration?

此線上座談為「BIO:ART SEA:T」計畫的系列線上講座的第一場，由參與該計畫的藝術家之一顧廣毅為主講者。他以明年受邀參與台北藝術節的新計畫「蝙蝠筵席實驗室」作為講座討論的起始點，在表演還未在藝術節上演之前進行一場前導講座，邀請導演/藝術家黃鼎云（也是此計畫的戲劇構作）以及策展人林承緯（同時也是國立台灣科學教育館跨域小組成員）共同與談。

由於「蝙蝠筵席實驗室」將與台北表演藝術中心與國立臺灣科學教育館共同合作，嘗試於科學場館中進行表演藝術實踐，透過未來情境的建立探索疫情下食用野生動物的爭議主題。長年專注在「藝術與科學合作」的藝術家顧廣毅此次想要挑戰科學博物館系統中對科學詮釋的話語權，以及藝術實踐中的批判性與想像力如何能夠開展出一場對科學倫理的公眾辯論。

此座談話題將從「蝙蝠筵席實驗室」延伸至科學博物館系統中的藝術與科學合作，除了藝術家談自己的新計畫之外，也會和與談者共同討論近年國際間科學博物場館內的各種藝術活動的形式與意義。想要提問藝術與科學合作的目的為何？如何在兩個看似大相徑庭的領域中找出合作的默契，並同時產生正向回饋於兩者？以及究竟怎麼在台灣以及東南亞國家中摸索出一條與西方世界不一樣的路徑，去探索藝術與科學合作的更多可能？

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2021.07.24

DNA and Ancestral Memories 記因・基憶

In 2019, Boedi Widjaja collaborated with geneticist Assoc Prof Eric Yap to synthesise a hybrid DNA – his Y-chromosome; DNA of the Chinese parasol tree (which the artist’s grandfather is named after); and an encoded text – a chimera of person, plant and poetry. The hybrid DNA seeded A Tree +++, a trilogy [1] that contemplates the parallel diasporic journeys that the artist’s grandfather and he took, the former’s move to Indonesia from China in his youth and the artist’s childhood migration from Indonesia to Singapore.

Widjaja will present his research and processes – scientific and artistic – in developing the trilogy A tree talks, a tree walks 梧桐语 . 菩提径 [2] (2019), A tree rings, a tree sings 树龄°述铃 [3] (2021) and A tree heaves, a tree leaves 遥 . 叶 (ongoing). The first project explored DNA writing and bio-visual language systems; the artist mapped hanacaraka (Javanese ancient script) with the I Ching hexagrams using the DNA amino code as key. In《树龄°述铃》, the artist speculated on the genetic inheritance of images and sound based on the frontier science of epigenetics, and experimented with DNA sonification. The artist will also share on his ongoing research which includes the book of genealogy 族谱, and to imagine one for the diasporic people, and phenotyping – the genetic predictions of externally visible characteristics like facial landmarks, skin color and ancestry.

This will be followed by a conversation between BIO:ART SEA:T curator Tang Fu Kuen, Assoc Prof Yap and Widjaja, touching on the geneticist’s pioneering research projects; the scientist-artist collaborative process in the trilogy; and the expanded perspectives arising from interdisciplinary projects.    

2019 年，藝術家Boedi Widjaja 與遺傳學家 Eric Yap 副教授合作合成了一種混合 DNA——他的 Y 染色體；梧桐樹的DNA（以藝術家的祖父的名字命名）；和一個編碼的文本——一個人、植物和詩歌的幻想。混合 DNA 孕育了 A Tree +++。此計畫是三部曲 [1]，思考藝術家的祖父和他的散居之旅，祖父年輕時從中國搬到印尼，以及藝術家Boedi Widjaja 兒時從印尼移民到新加坡。

此場線上講座藝術家 Boedi Widjaja  將分享他三部曲《A tree talks, a tree walks 梧桐语 . 菩提径》[2] 、《A tree rings, a tree sings 树龄°述铃》 [3] (2021) 與 《A tree heaves, a tree leaves 遥 . 叶》 (進行中) 中科學和藝術之間的研究和過程。第一部曲探索 DNA 書寫和生物視覺語言系統；藝術家 Boedi Widjaja 以 DNA 氨基密碼為關鍵，用易經卦繪製 hanacaraka（爪哇古文字）。在第二部曲《A tree rings, a tree sings 树龄°述铃》中，則基於表觀遺傳學推測圖像和聲音的遺傳，並進行了DNA聲化實驗。最後，藝術家Boedi Widjaja 也會分享他正在進行的研究，其中包括以族譜來思考散居社群的研究，包含如臉部標誌、膚色和血統等外部可見特徵的遺傳預測。

隨後則將開展 BIO:ART SEA:T 策展人鄧富權、Assoc Prof Eric Yap和 藝術家Widjaja 之間的對話，探討遺傳學家的開創性研究項目；三部曲中的科學家-藝術家合作過程；以及跨學科項目產生的擴展視角。

2021.09.26

Memoirs of the Unagi 鰻魚回憶錄

Artist Henry Tan’s project, Young EEL [1], investigates the human and eel population crisis in Thailand and Japan. He devised a method to encode brainwave, scent, sound, vibration, and light into lab-grown EEL in order to recreate memories of the clone body. Memories from one body are transferred to a new one.

The alarming environmental change has impacted eel habitat in the ocean, disturbing their breeding period resulting in population decline. While Japanese Unagi day or eel eating tradition occurs every year in summer. eel farming can’t produce an effective yield.

Therefore, in this session, Artist Henry Tan will not only address how science and technology motivate artists to investigate social phenomena but also share his development processes for this project and the collaboration with an eel specialist and music composer. Moreover, this lecture invites Prof. Pakpoom Subsoontorn to join and discuss the potential of synthetic biology and how it can reshape the future of our society.

This project is part of the Teratotera art festival in Tokyo 2019, organized by Ongoing Art Center.

Henry Tan 的藝術計畫 Young EEL 旨調查泰國和日本的人類和鰻魚種群危機。 震驚的環境變化影響了鰻魚在海洋中的棲息地，擾亂了它們的繁殖期，導致種群數量下降。而日本鰻魚節或鰻魚吃傳統每年都會發生在夏季。 鰻魚養殖無法產生有效產量。因此，藝術家Henry Tan 設計了一種方法，將腦電波、氣味、聲音、振動和光編碼到實驗室培育的鰻魚中，以重建克隆體的記憶。 一個身體的記憶被轉移到一個新的身體上。

在這次的與談中，他將討論科學和技術如何激勵藝術家研究社會現象，也將分享他對該項目的開發過程，與鰻魚專家和音樂作曲家的合作的過程。同時，此次講座邀請Prof. Pakpoom Subsoontorn 一同討論合成生物學的潛力以及它如何重塑我們社會的未來。

該計畫是 2019 年東京 Teratotera 藝術節的一部分，由 Ongoing Art Center 策劃。

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2021.09.26

Immigrated Garden 遷徙的花園

Traditionally food has been defined by the local produce, herbs and crops. Within every cuisine, there are specific plants that are used to create unique flavours. Now, we live in a globalized society. Many of us have immigrated to a land far from home, but we often miss our home cuisines. We try to replicate the taste of home. What we often face is the inability to find the right kind of fresh spices. What ‘Food-Home’ is presented by our modern-day? What does it show us different layers or matters of life, politics, economy,…?

Come enjoy our lecture will be about the journey of different plants, immigrating to new places as we immigrate around the world!

食物是每一種文化的重要組成部分。傳統上，食物是由當地的農產品、草藥和作物來定義的。在每道菜中，都有用於創造獨特風味的特定植物。現在，我們生活在一個全球化的社會， 我們很多人都移民到遠離家鄉的地方，經常想念的家常菜，且面臨無法找到合適的新鮮香料。此次BIO:ART SEA:T 計畫中試圖複製家的味道，討論移動、a taste of Home、認同、記憶的關係，以及試圖討論社會結構所給予的框架。我們的現代呈現什麼“美食之家”？ 它向我們展示了生活、政治、經濟……的不同層次或問題？

快來享受我們的講座，了解不同植物的旅程，隨著我們移民到世界各地，移民到新的地方！

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