Sorn-Lai is a public interactive game experience that tasks participants with exploring the First Forest. Audience members can use their phones to scan NFC data tags attached to the scape’s characters and dioramas - uncovering details about the world along the way.
The exhibition features a series of 7 large tabletop dioramas showcasing different environments around the first forest and over 50 character inhabitants of Sorn-Lai, all interwoven in an intricate web of narrative and ecology.
Stories unfolded around the tables are sets of cautionary tales regarding contemporary generative, manufacturing, and integrated technologies; the very technologies the installation is made with while the settings themselves are metaphors for societal trends and attitudes.
In an era where the boundaries between the biological and the technological blur into obsolescence, "Sorn-Lai" emerges as a narrative beacon, illuminating the profound transformations of our world in the wake of human action and technological advancement. This immersive fiction set, designed to captivate and engage a public audience, delves into the heart of the technosphere and a post-singularity existence, where characters and organisms are no longer distinct entities of nature or machine, but rather mutated amalgams embodying the fusion of bio-techno systems.
Sorn-Lai invites its audience to traverse the White Forest, a realm where the fabric of life is interwoven with strands of artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and cybernetic enhancements. Here, the forest breathes not only through the photosynthesis of its flora but also through the pulsating rhythms of bioluminescent data streams. Creatures of the wood, from the Holoflies to the majestic Echowalkers, are marvels of evolutionary and engineered design, showcasing the intricate melding of organic growth and technological integration.
This narrative odyssey is not merely a tale of adventure and exploration; it is a reflective mirror held up to our current trajectory, challenging us to confront the rapid and often reckless changes we impose upon our planet and its ecosystems. Through the eyes of its protagonist, a researcher from the Guild embarking on a mission to understand the resilience of a world teeming with bio-technological marvels, audiences are prompted to question the ethical dimensions of our technological aspirations, the sustainability of our actions, and the legacy we wish to leave for the generations to come.
Sorn-Lai serves as a compelling invitation to engage with the issues of the technosphere and post-singularity world, urging us to consider how we might navigate the complexities of an increasingly integrated bio-technological existence. It asks us to ponder whether our future will be one of harmonious coexistence or catastrophic discord, and what role we will play in shaping this outcome. Through its richly imagined world, this immersive experience fosters a dialogue about our relationship with technology, nature, and each other, emphasizing the urgent need for thoughtful stewardship and innovative approaches to the challenges of the Anthropocene.
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
Era Defined by Human Impact
The Anthropocene marks a proposed geological epoch that begins when human activities started to have a significant and global impact on Earth's geology and ecosystems. This era, still unofficial in the geological time scale, is characterized by several markers, including the widespread presence of radioactive materials from nuclear tests, microplastics in the oceans, increased greenhouse gas levels leading to climate change, and mass extinction of species. It underscores the profound effects human actions have exerted on the planet since the Industrial Revolution, altering its atmosphere, land, and oceans in ways that are detectable in geological records. The Anthropocene serves as a call to acknowledge and address the magnitude of human influence on our planet, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable practices to preserve Earth's ecological balance.
Technoscene: The Fusion of Life and Technology
A Conceptual Era of Technological Integration
The Technoscene is not a geological epoch but a conceptual term that describes the current era of unprecedented integration between technology and the biological sphere. It reflects the growing entanglement of organic life with synthetic and digital advancements, encompassing biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and cybernetic systems. This era is marked by the creation and evolution of bio-techno hybrids, smart materials, and the Internet of Things (IoT), which blend the boundaries between the natural and the artificial. The Technoscene represents both the challenges and opportunities of living in a world where technology is not only a tool but an integral part of the living ecosystem. It prompts discussions on ethics, sustainability, and the future coevolution of humans and technology, emphasizing the need for harmony between technological advancement and ecological stewardship.
Exploring Our Impact and Integration
This exhibit invites you to explore the dual narratives of the Anthropocene and the Technoscene—two facets of our modern existence that challenge us to rethink our relationship with the planet and the technology we create. As you move through this space, consider the legacy of our species and the pathways toward a future where balance, sustainability, and coexistence are at the heart of human innovation.
Crafting the Exhibition: A Journey Through the Technoscene
In the spirit of the Technoscene, this exhibition stands as a testament to the seamless integration of technology with the natural world, embodying the very principles it seeks to explore. Through the innovative use of CNC milling, 3D printing, and generative AI, the exhibit not only tells a story but becomes an active participant in the narrative of human-technology symbiosis.
3D Printing: Manifesting the Bio-Techno Hybrid
3D printing serves as a cornerstone technology in the exhibition, enabling the manifestation of forms that blur the lines between biological and synthetic. This technique allows for the production of models and artifacts that represent the bio-techno hybrids of the Technoscene, showcasing the potential for life and technology to coalesce. From detailed replicas of genetically modified organisms to prototypes of biodegradable electronics, 3D printing illustrates the possibilities of sustainable technology and the future of integrated design.
CNC Milling: Sculpting the Future
CNC (Computer Numerical Control) milling brings the precision of digital design into the tangible realm, allowing for the creation of intricate forms that echo the complex interplay between human influence and the natural environment. This method is used to carve materials with exacting detail, producing sculptures and structural elements of the exhibit that mimic natural patterns altered by human action. From the replication of eroded landscapes to the creation of interactive installations that respond to human touch, CNC milling bridges the gap between raw materials and the human hand that guides their transformation.
Generative AI: The Canvas of Complexity
Generative AI operates as the creative force behind much of the exhibition's content, from the generation of unique art pieces that visualize data on climate change and biodiversity loss, to the development of interactive narratives that engage visitors in the stories of the Anthropocene and Technoscene. This technology harnesses the power of algorithms to create complex patterns, simulate ecosystems, and generate solutions to environmental challenges, embodying the adaptive and evolving nature of the technosphere.
Kitbashing: The Art of Creative Reassembly
In an innovative nod to the principles of the Technoscene, this exhibition embraces the art of kitbashing, both digitally and physically, to illustrate the evolutionary process of adaptation and repurposing in the face of rapid technological and environmental change. Kitbashing, traditionally known in model-making, involves taking components from multiple sources and recombining them to create new, often unforeseen, outcomes. Here, it becomes a metaphor for the entropy and creativity inherent in human design and interaction with the world.
Physical kitbashing in the exhibition leverages the "entropy of other humans' designs and objects," turning discarded electronics, industrial leftovers, and everyday items into stunning sculptures and interactive installations. These pieces tell a story of resourcefulness and regeneration, highlighting the potential to breathe new life into what might otherwise be considered waste. This practice not only showcases the innovative reuse of materials but also serves as a critique of disposable culture, emphasizing the importance of sustainability and the creative potential of repurposing in the Anthropocene.
Digitally, kitbashing takes on a new dimension through the use of software and generative AI, blending elements from diverse digital sources to create complex visualizations, immersive environments, and speculative designs. This process harnesses the chaos and creativity of digital artifacts, from 3D models and textures to data sets and coding snippets, reassembling them into novel forms that challenge our perceptions of technology and its impact. Digital kitbashing in the exhibition demonstrates the fluid nature of digital creation, where boundaries dissolve between creator and creation, original and remixed, offering a kaleidoscopic view of future possibilities.
By leveraging the entropy of human designs and objects, the exhibition invites visitors to reflect on the lifecycle of materials and ideas in our interconnected world. Kitbashing, both as a physical practice and a digital process, embodies the essence of the Technoscene—highlighting innovation through adaptation, the beauty of hybridization, and the transformative power of viewing the world as a reservoir of potential waiting to be unlocked.
A Symphony of Integration
Together, these technologies craft an immersive environment where every element is imbued with the essence of the Technoscene. Interactive displays, informed by real-time data and generative AI, invite visitors to witness the dynamic changes of our planet. Artifacts, sculpted by CNC milling and 3D printing, offer a tactile connection to the concepts of bio-technological integration. This exhibition is not just a passive viewing experience; it is an interactive dialogue facilitated by the very technologies that define the Technoscene, encouraging visitors to envision their role in shaping a future where technology and nature coexist in harmony.
As visitors traverse the space, they are enveloped in a narrative woven through the methods of the Technoscene, making the exhibition itself a living example of the potential for technology to inform, inspire, and integrate with the natural world. Through this journey, the exhibition challenges us to reflect on our impact, imagine our future, and engage with the technologies that will help us navigate the complex relationship between humanity and the planet.
