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Workshop:
THE SILKWORM PROJECT Workshop with
Vivian Xu
June
8, 2019, 3-6pm @ Art Laboratory Berlin
THE
SILKWORM PROJECT Workshop will give insight into the artistic research
and practice by Vivian Xu and offers a hands-on part, based on artist
Vivian Xu's solo exhibition at Art Laboratory Berlin of the same
name.
The
Introduction___ The artist presented her research and work for
the past six years designing computational and machine environments
for the silkworm in pursuit of better understanding the insect's
spinning behaviour and spatial perception. The talk detailed three
perspectives taken during the research process of The Silkworm
Project. The first perspective takes a historical and cultural
look at the entangled history of weaving and computation history,
of sericulture and machine logic. The second attempts to understand
the three-dimensional world through the lens for the silkworm. The
third attempts to hypothesize a new machine logic combining learned
knowledge of the two, that speculates on a new breed of slow technologies
or labour machines that reveal a new relationship between the artificial
and the natural. The artistalso spoke about her current work at
the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, in which she
is creating an artist book that explores the nature of the sericulture
treatise, and the relationships between technical treatises and
industry production.
The Hands-on part___ Participants were each given silkworms,
hand-reared by the artist in Berlin. Following in the footsteps
of other researchers such as the Mediated Matter Group at MIT Media
Lab, individuals will be able to conduct their own spinning observations,
posing spatial questions to the animals by constructing three-dimensional
environments for their silkworms to live and work within. Art Laboratory
Berlin provided basic materials and tools, such as glue, scissors,
paper, rulers, etc. to build these environments. Participants are
also welcome to bring their own materials. Participants were able
to take their silkworms home, and some silkworm feed was provided
by Art Laboratory Berlin, along with online resources and manuals.
Participants have been asked to document their observations and
findings. These results will be shared back to Art Laboratory Berlin
and will be posted to a dedicated webpage.
Vivian Xu (b.1985) is a media artist and researcher
from Beijing, currently based in Shanghai. Her work explores the
boundaries between bio and electronic media in creating new forms
of machine logic, life and sensory systems, and often take the form
of object, installation and/or wearable. She has shown, lectured,
and preformed at various institutions in China, the US, Germany,
and Australia. Vivian co-founded Dogma Lab, a trans-disciplinary
design lab in Shanghai that is dedicated to creating experimental
research at the intersection of design, technology, art and science.
Between 2013-2015, she was Research Fellow at New York University
Shanghai. Since then, she has lectured at various universities and
programs, including Shanghai Tech University, Chinese University
of Hong Kong Shenzhen Campus, Roy Ascott Technoetic Arts program
(Shanghai), etc. Her work has been featured in media and press,
including VICE China, Elle US, and the China Global TV English Channel,
etc. Xu received her MFA in Design and Technology at Parsons the
New School for Design in 2013.
This event is based on the ongoing exhibition The
Silkworm Project.
And some of the results...
Sean's silkworm Carlos
Photos courtesy Sean Coughlin
Flo and
Elena's silkworm Edward
Photos
courtesy Florence Razoux
In close cooperation with:
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