Artist Zheng Da's new exhibit explores science and technology

03:22

A solo exhibit by Zheng Da, one of China's top new media artists, recently opened in Beijing's Today Museum, and utilizes sound, performance and new media to push the boundaries of art and innovation.

His installations focus on linking viewers and machines through unsophisticated technologies.

He set up the "Low-tech Lab" 10 years ago. It blends different academic subjects, with a diverse team that matches this belief including hardware engineers, software engineers, vocal artists. He also coordinates with scientists in other areas, depending on the art programs. Zheng Da is trying to push the boundaries of art and advance innovation.

"The Unfettered Language of Machines is a large interactive light installation. The most interesting part is that it is closely connected with human touch," said Zheng. "When you touch the installation, it receives the heartbeat and transmits it visually. When people stand in front of such a giant machine, except for feeling a sense of danger, you can digitally connect with each other. I felt this is a reflection of true life nowadays."

"My artistic pieces have a sci-fi quality, with a sense of the future. Artificial Intelligence, as I see it today, is far from strong AI. If there is such a possibility, AI would not be an extension of human beings; it should have its own language and logic," Zheng added.

Artwork 'Function of Predator Machine.' /Today Art Museum

"'Unknown Unknowns,' the theme of the exhibition, predicts what we will be like in the future, and also includes a rethinking of environment and social development,"

"On the other hand, this kind of exhibition, featuring artistic interaction and shaping of machine awareness, reflects another type of art form. In the future, what the art will be like? The cooperation cross fields and the cooperation between artists, scientists and engineers are all interesting to expect," said Yan Yan, vice director of the Today Art Museum.

The exhibition runs until April 5.

(Cover image: The Unfettered Language of Machines. /Today Art Museum)