Belonging to Soil was one of 7 artworks invited into the main exhibition of the Microwave New Media Festival in Hong Kong. The theme this year is Non-Human Intelligence. Curator, Joel Kwong, writes, “With the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), we try to shift the focus back to the “non-human” to identify the missing piece. In the field of “non-human intelligence”—which includes animals, insects, plants, and computer systems—humans still play a role, but one that needs to interact and cooperate, and even create something with other species. Will this direction help us go beyond anthropocentric frameworks of understanding?”

Photos by Wong Pak Hang.

The exhibition team installed the work beautifully; including the virtual reality experience zone next to the live springtail terrariums with magnifiers and a video microscope viewing area. The exhibition is at Hong Kong City Hall, November 4 – November 12, 2023. I will also present a talk titled, Eco Intelligence, in the festival’s conference, Humans, Animals, Plants, Machines and Artificial Intelligence, on Nov 9, 2023.

Belonging to Soil is a collaborative virtual reality artwork created with Shadrick Addy, Mayen McClain, Luke Stephens, JT Thrash, Andrew Sanchez, Josh Rodenberg, Megan Wright, and William Yuan.