We Welcome Whatever Happens Next, 2024

We Welcome Whatever Happens Next is a commissioned work, site-specific installation influenced by Nam June Paik. A retro computer, a piano reminiscent of a Fluxus performance and video synthesizer, and a hand made of silicone are hanging from the ceiling of the exhibition space. As the audience approaches, the electron light from the work’s embedded LiDAR sensor detects the movement, and the hand and the computer begin to make a pendulum motion. As the hands brush each other and move away, they also touch the piano’s keyboard, which in turn responds to the audience with sound and colorful light. These objects and the incidental movements of light are projected onto the surface of the water in a large tank placed on the floor and are simultaneously shown live on a computer monitor. This work, composed of intricate mechanical design, constantly reflects the pendulum motions of the computer and the hand, as well as the images of light emitted randomly by a piano onto the water’s surface, repeatedly disrupting its structure. Hence, the work deconstructs the binary system of the language of machines and the fundamental principle of computing systems and introduces the unpredictable element of audience participation, encouraging a fluid shift in the dichotomous concept of humans and machines. We Welcome Whatever Happens Next encourages us to be open to the future and dream of positive possibilities as audiences, technology, and art converge to create new experiences. Jordan suggests that we should be open to the potential of the future that no one can predict.

In collaboration with SILO Lab, Sindae Kang dimensions variable, installation, computer, customized piano, silicone-cast hand, water tank, electric motor, pendulum