Tsai Pou-Ching in ‘Entanglements: The Rhythm of Being’ at Taipei Fine Arts Museum : Museum

Entanglements: The Rhythm of Being conceptually echoes a phenomenon revealed by modern physics: At the quantum level, indivisible connections occur between certain particles. Such a perspective reminds us that existence may not be exclusively composed of mutually discrete individuals, but is more like a relational whole in which myriads of things interconnect, interact and give birth to one another.

In geology, the "Critical Zone" is a thin, fragile stratum of Earth where all life takes place, from the tree canopy in the vegetation layer all the way down to subterranean aquifers. Addressing the issue of climate change, French philosopher Bruno Latour criticized humankind's long-term misunderstanding of the world in terms of dichotomies between nature and society, the global and the local. Applying the idea of the Critical Zone, he posited that the place where we live is not "the whole planet," but a very slender region of life. And he centered his attention on three aspects: nature, technology and practical action. He stressed that in nature the Critical Zone is a complex living network that includes rock weathering, microbial activity, water cycles, plant root systems and atmospheric exchanges, collectively comprising an entire life support system. Technology, meanwhile, allows us to see these life systems through such scientific devices as geological observatories, weather stations, and satellites. As for practical action, such human behavior as agriculture, industry and industrialization has already changed the Critical Zone of life. Thus, human beings are not external observers of Earth, but are part of the Critical Zone. Human actions have already become entangled with technology and nature. In recent years, the American physicist Karen Barad has borrowed a concept from quantum physics: "entanglement." When two particles become entangled, they share a single state and can no longer be viewed as two independent objects. It is as if they are two dancers, dancing as one, performing their pirouettes, lifts and other movements together. Similarly, human bodies and microorganisms, multi-species relationships, humanity and the land, technological perception, living creatures and the environment all may count as a single, collective entity, conjoined in a symbiotic relationship.

Informed by the concepts of contemporary museum studies, the exhibition features 11 art projects by contemporary artists and collectives. Here, they explore how advances in technology have caused overlaps among the past, present, and future within the conventional linear view of time, and they ponder how humans understand their relationships with other species, the environment, and the world. It also examines three dimensions: how humans and non-humans collectively interpret the world, how technology augments humanity's senses and perceptions of time and space, and how we may become "symbiotic agents." In this way, we may perceive the Umwelten of other species (how they subjectively perceive their environments), which were originally beyond our reach. This process of choice and intervention that breaks the linear progression of time challenges us to rethink our ethical responsibilities. The exhibition venue is designed as a space for visitor perception and practice, facilitating resonance and empathy that foster new ethics and values of sharing, mutual aid, and symbiosis.

Curator: Sharleen YU

Participating Artists:

Sonja BÄUMEL
Céline CLANET
CHOU Tung-Yen / Very Theatre
LU Ming-Te
PENG Hung-Chih
Simple Noodle Art
Hito STEYERL
NOIZ Architects
TSAI Pou-Ching
WU Chi-Yu＋CHEN Pu
YAMASHIRO Chikako

* in alphabetical order by surname

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the artist and TFAM