Redefining ‘Gaia’ through works of art at the MoCA Taipei

In Greek Mythology, Gaia is one of the primordial deities — the ancestral mother of all life on Earth. In times of constant change and uncertainty, it is not surprising that people are turning to the Gaia theory proposed by James Lovelock, reflecting on how living organisms, particularly human, can co-evolve with its environment in order to perpetuate conditions for life on our planet Earth.

In recent years, ‘Gaia’ has become a recurrent theme that appears in creative work. Most notably, Luke Jerram’s huge planet Earth — over twenty feet in diameter — that floats in the air is titled Gaia. Besides works of art, the concept of Gaia has also become the point of departure for many exhibitions around the world.

This include a recent exhibition now on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Taipei, which seeks to redefine Gaia as a ‘concept entity that is composed by the technology of gene, algorithm, intelligent design and automata projects’, proposing the idea that ‘Technology’ has now become the mother of Genesis.

Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Taipei

Titled Gaia.: Gene, algorithm, intelligent design, automata_A mirage self, The Other Realm, the exhibition invites its visitors to contemplate on our contemporary world through the lens of Francis Bacon, whose 1626 New Atlantis — according to exhibition curator Shen Bo-Cheng — “turns ‘the other realm’ from a mythical and unachievable Utopia to a scientifically and technologically achievable ‘Brave New World’.” Curiously enough, this so-called ‘Brave New World’ may sound familiar to most of us since the world that we’re now living in is — in many ways — the “future” that Bacon once imagined.

UVIF series by Craig P. Borrow

Upon entering the exhibition, visitors would come across some images installed in a pitch dark room, alongside the dimly lit corridor right outside the room. This is a set of photographs from Craig P. Borrow’s UVIF series, which shows images of plants captured using Ultraviolet Induced Visible Fluorescence (UVIVF).

These still-life photographs evoke a sense of familiarity, coupled with a slight touch of eeriness. This is probably due to the fact that their colours, ranging from neon pink to magical green, fluorescent blue to enchanting purple, are not the types that we would typically associate plants with.

UVIF series by Craig P. Borrow

By inducing plants’ fluorescence, Borrow not only reveals what might otherwise be invisible to human eyes, but shed light on a different level of magical beauty that these plants secretly possess. Looking at the UVIF series, this writer couldn’t help but contemplate the true nature of life; images as such are like gateways that encourage us to form a deeper relationship with nature and even our surrounding.

Air Cultures by Juan Zamora

Juan Zamora’s Air Cultures, a 16-minute single-channel video, is another work of art that caught my attention. In this video, we see an enlarged version of what looks like the microscopic view of organisms, multiplying itself every second.

Zamora has been culturing the microorganisms that he collected from different places. These microorganisms, often multiplied in forms of dot or cluster, form ripples of concentric circles in transparent petri dishes.

Thinking outside the box, Zamora magically transformed these circles and clusters into musical notes. By inputing these data into the computer, the artist succeeds in creating beautiful melody composed from life.

Air Cultures by Juan Zamora
Courtesy of the artist

These microorganisms collected from the air are witnesses of its surrounding, where any change would’ve had an impact on even the tiniest life. Hence, microorganism that grew up in different regions would have a composition that is unique of its own, just like you and me.

Clearly, Air Cultures encourages visitors to contemplate nature from a different perspective, recognising the nuance of changes that are happening around us, even those without our knowing.

The Sacred Pillars and The Holy Palanquins by Huang Zan-Lun

The Sacred Pillars and The Holy Palanquins are two art installations created by Huang Zan-Lun. Exploring the integration of traditional religious beliefs and technology, Huang made The Sacred Pillars from IC boards, with woven cable wires connecting individual temple roofs.

The Sacred Pillars by Huang Zan-Lun

When coming close to it, one hears buzzing noises that are, in fact, radio signals that the artist has converted from the ambient sounds and religious chanting recorded in the temples. By transmitting these ‘sacred sounds’ through radio, Huang suggests that the so-called ‘divine revelation’ comes from Technology and nothing else. With The Sacred Pillars, Huang prompts its viewers to challenge the idea of ‘belief’, as well as to reflect on the true purpose of technology.

The Holy Palanquins by Huang Zan-Lun

With Technology at its core, we see how computer, algorithm and artificial intelligence have come to play a crucial and significant role in the creative world. Though most of the work on display is underpinned by Technology, the messages they want to deliver mainly revolve around relationship between man and nature, or that of man and technology. One can’t help but contemplate this world we’re in, while envisioning what the ‘New World’ will hold in the foreseeable future.

The exhibition Gaia.: Gene, algorithm, intelligent design, automata_A mirage self, The Other Realm was now on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Taipei from February 12th to April 24th, 2022.