Installation view
时间的幼虫
上海纽约大学当代艺术中心（上纽ICA），2024年6月21日—2024年8月24日
主办方：北京大学博古睿研究中心
策展人：龙星如
艺术家/科学家：白书农、郭城、张蔚、张文心
设计师：nonplace studio、沈军
“时间的幼虫”是北京大学博古睿研究中心“创意未来”这一关注领域下的一次跨学科策展及研究项目，并与上海纽约大学当代艺术中心（上纽ICA）合作呈现。此次策展实验始于2022年夏天，邀请艺术家和生命科学家一同关注艺术创作和科学发现过程中不被注意的时间印痕，探寻语境之间的震颤。本次展览由2022-23博古睿学者龙星如策划，呈现由白书农、郭城、张蔚、张文心联合创作的11件全新作品。所有参展作品均来自该项目的研究与委任。
“时间”作为四位参与者共同关注的认识论对象，可能是微生物的表面残留物、进化尺度上的分叉和多样性、地球生态的交替等等。罗安清在《生活在受损星球上的艺术》（明尼苏达大学出版社，2017）的引言中提出这样一种时间观念：当代人类借由“多种时间”席卷世界，而非建构单一的未来[1]。这期间的每一种时间推演都会在地球上留下明确的痕迹。这种时间观与此次展览试图传达的时间理念异曲同工。“时间的幼虫”是一次关于化变的共思，是两位艺术创作者与两位生命科学家在近两年时间里，通过书信往来、互访、对话和田野所共同搭筑的，一个亲密亦广阔的无形茧体。
“多种”的时间可能是技术的、地质的、生物的、纠缠的与埋藏的。和常见的“艺术与科学”合作模式不同，本项目将位参与者视为共同的创作者，而非将科学仅仅作为素材或“技术/工具/实验的提供方”。四位参与者彼此穿插进创作和研究现场，暂且忘记自己原初的身份与习惯。这个项目的基础立场并非简单的“跨学科”，而更像是“前学科”的尝试，是不完美的、未竟的、如同幼虫一般的。
The Larva of Time
Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) at NYU Shanghai, 2024/06/21 - 2024/08/24
Organizer: The Berggruen Research Center at Peking University
Curator: Iris LONG
Artists/Scientists: BAI Shunong, GUO Cheng, ZHANG Wei, ZHANG Wenxin
Designers: nonplace studio, SHEN Jun
The Larva of Time is an interdisciplinary curatorial and research project, realized as part of the “Creative Futures” initiative at the Berggruen Research Center at Peking University and exhibited in partnership with the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) at NYU Shanghai. Commenced in the summer of 2022, The Larva of Time invited artists and scientists to investigate unnoticed temporal imprints in the processes of artistic and scientific research, exploring the contextual resonances between art and science. Curated by 2022-23 Berggruen Fellow Iris Long, the exhibition features eleven works, co-created by the exhibiting artists and scientists BAI Shunong, GUO Cheng, ZHANG Wei, and ZHANG Wenxin, all derived from the project’s research and commissions.
Time, an epistemological subject of shared interest among the four participants, has multiple manifestations in this project, ranging from the surface residues of microorganisms to bifurcations and diversity on an evolutionary scale to Earth's shifting geological and ecological epochs. The introduction of the book Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet (University of Minnesota Press, 2017) proposes a concept of time in which contemporary humans sweep across the world, bringing “multiple times” rather than constructing a singular future. Each version of time leaves distinct marks on the Earth, and this conception of time aligns with the temporal notions examined in the exhibition. The Larva of Time is a shared contemplation of metamorphosis, an intimate yet expansive invisible cocoon created by two artists and two scientists over nearly two years through correspondence, visits, dialogues, and fieldwork.
These plural times could be technological, geological, biological, entangled, and buried. Unlike common modes of collaboration between art and science, this project regards the participants as co-creators rather than merely using science as a source of material or a provider of technology, tools, or experiments. The four participants interweave their creative and research processes, temporarily setting aside their original identities and habits. The foundation of this project is not simply interdisciplinary; it is an attempt at something "pre-disciplinary," something imperfect, unfinished, and larval.
石蛹
铝、滚珠丝杆、步进电机、LED、定制电路、定制软件、混合材料
2024
一根看似岩石核心的圆柱，在三角形的怪异装置中心缓缓旋转。嵌入绿色薄膜的镜框在其表面上下移动，所过之处，薄膜上逐渐显现出既似斑纹又似图腾的神秘图案。这似乎在暗示，如今这个世界上多样的生物曾经拥有共同的祖先。
Pupa Stone
Aluminum, ball screws, stepper motors, LED, custom circuits, custom software, mixed media
2024
A pillar that looks like a core sample slowly rotates at the center of a peculiar triangular device. Framed green films move up and down its surface, gradually unveiling enigmatic patterns that hint at both markings and totems. It seems to imply that the vast diversity of species today may trace back to a common ancestor.
月亮
帐篷、布料、铝、LED、混合材料
2024
有多种假说解释昆虫（尤其是鳞翅目昆虫）在夜晚被光吸引并聚集的行为。其中一种假说认为，昆虫利用月光进行导航，当人造光源出现时，它们误将其当作月亮，并试图保持恒定角度飞行，最终被光源吸引。
此装置以一个悬挂形似蛹的帐篷为主体，内部装有多根LED灯管 ，内部由多根LED灯管照亮，使其一面看上去像灯诱布，另一面则仿佛隐约显现出化蛹过程中的定格图景。装置放置在地下一楼的楼梯口处，成为观众下楼后看到的第一个光源，接近作品的过程仿佛夜间的昆虫被灯光所吸引，暗示着观众主体性从人到“昆虫”的微妙转换。
The Moon
Tent, Fabric, Alumium, LED, mixed media
2024
Several hypotheses explain why insects (especially Lepidoptera) are attracted to and gather around light sources at night. One such hypothesis suggests that insects navigate using moonlight. Mistaking artificial lights for the moon and attempting to maintain a constant flight angle, they are ultimately drawn to the light source.
This installation features a suspended tent in the shape of a chrysalis, illuminated internally by LED tubes. The tent looks like a moth-attracting cloth on one side, while the other side subtly reveals a snapshot of the pupation process. Placed at the entrance to the basement staircase, it is the first light source that visitors see as they descend, mimicking the way nocturnal insects are attracted to light. This approach suggests a transformation in the viewers' subjectivity from human to “insect.”
占位者 No.1
变速杆、铝、LCD屏幕、混合媒介
2024
生态位的概念描述了一个物种在其生态系统中的角色及其与环境的互动方式，涵盖如何获取资源、与他者竞争及适应环境的策略。随着人类活动的增加，人造物品在宏观或微观层面开始与环境产生新的动态互动。例如，自然环境中的道路切断野生动物迁徙路线，改变地表排水；风力发电机安装则改变局部气流，可能影响鸟类和昆虫行为。此项目尝试用“生态位占位者”的概念，来讨论人类活动与人造物如何部分占据或替代原有生态位中的物种角色，改变生态系统的结构和功能，并对生物多样性产生影响。
Niche Squatter No. 1
Gear shift, aluminum, LCD screen, mixed media
2024
An ecological niche is the role that a species plays within its ecosystem, detailing how it interacts with the environment, competes for resources, and adapts to its surroundings. With the rise in human activity, artificial objects now dynamically engage with the environment on various scales. For example, roads in natural environments cut off wildlife migration routes and alter surface drainage, while the installation of wind turbines changes local airflows, potentially affecting the behavior of birds and insects. This project explores the concept of “niche occupiers,” discussing how human activities and man-made objects partially take on the role of or replace the original species within ecological niches, thereby altering the structure and function of ecosystems and impacting biodiversity.
占位者 No.2
风力发电机叶片、电缆、锡、LCD屏幕、混合媒介
Niche Squatter No. 2
Wind turbine blades, cables, tin, LCD screen, mixed media
2024
雾取 No.1
铝，定制电路，混合媒介
2024
“雾取”由回收的铝材铸造而成，其形态介于脊椎、植物、幼虫的斑纹之间。露水在其表面的一小块光滑区域缓慢凝结、汇聚再滴落。作品设想一种带有一定功能性的人造物废弃于自然后的情景：当一块金属表面可以持续汇聚水滴时，或许会不断的吸引各种生物来取水。随着时间的推移，金属与这些生物的接触和摩擦，使得这块金属的局部逐渐变得光滑，如同庙门口石狮的脚趾。
Fog Basker No. 1
Aluminum, custom hardware, mixed media
2024
Fog Basker is cast from recycled aluminum, its form a fusion of vertebrae, plants, and the patterns of larvae. Dew slowly condenses on a small smooth part of its surface, and then drips off. The piece envisions a functional man-made object discarded in nature. As water droplets continuously form on the metal surface, it might attract various creatures seeking water. Over time, repeated contact and friction between the metal and these creatures gradually smooth the surface, much like the paws of a stone lion at a temple gate.
雾取 No.2
铝，定制电路，混合媒介
Fog Basker No. 2
Aluminum, custom hardware, mixed media
2024