Phi
Taikang Space Terrace Project, Beijing, China
2018.10.13 - 11.17
Wenxin Zhang x Jing Yu
Curator: Chelsea Liu
Art Director: Tang Xin
In this project, we hope to transform the terrace into a multi-level composite spaces. By constructing the sound installations on the external space of the building, the neural information network inside the human brain is mapped in parallel. The audience are invited to interact with some of the materials to participate in the generation of sounds. Walking on to the terrace, the audience can wander through several columnar structures and a greenhouse-like transparent plastic tent. This “inside” and “outside” traveling renders an experiential interchange, producing voids and loops.
The whole project consists of four installations: starting from black and white binary chess pieces; to the process of audio interpreting neurons in the human brain after being stimulated, exchanging electric charges and craving for stronger stimulation; and then to a vivid “algorithm” instrument - participants can turn on sensors referring to six common neurohormones to trigger computer auto-composition of music. Finally, the audience come to a hemispherical greenhouse simulating the neurologist’s hypothesis of the mechanism of human brain, that is, the brain consists of three layers of structures from the inside out, and also the “human-machine coupled brain layer” that could be realized in the near future. Each layer is connected to the sounding device in different ways, such as circuits and plant humidity sensors. The entire project progresses in layers, emphasizing the interaction and communication between the audience’s body with machine and sound.
The inspiration for the title comes from the commonly used symbol Phi (Φ) in mathematics and neuroscience. It is a constant of the golden section, and also a necessary value for judging the complexity of the system in cognitive neuroscience and also whether it will produce “consciousness.” “Phi” is a clue that can always be found in a system from simple to complex.
“泛音 Phi”
北京泰康空间露台项目
2018.10.13 - 11.17
张文心 x 虞菁
策展人：刘倩兮
艺术总监：唐昕
我们试图把露台变成一个有多重层次的复合空间，通过在建筑外部搭建声音装置，平行映射出人类大脑内部的神经信息网络，并且邀请观众身体力行地与部分材料互动，参与到声音的生成过程中。观众走到露台，穿梭在几根柱状结构和一个温室一样的透明塑料篷房中，这种时而“内”时而“外”的穿梭，提供了体验上的内外交汇，制造了孔洞和循环。
整个项目由四件装置组成：从二进制的黑白棋子出发；到以声音演绎人脑中神经元受到刺激后交换电荷并不断渴求更强刺激的过程；再到一个生动有趣的“算法”乐器——参与者可以拉动分别指涉六种常见神经激素的感应器，触发电脑自动作曲；最终来到一个半球状的植物温室中，这里模拟了神经学家对人脑功能机制的假设，即人脑从内到外由三层结构组成（分别为爬行动物脑、哺乳动物脑、智慧脑），以及在不久的将来可能实现的“人机耦合脑层”，每一层以电路、植物的湿度感应器等不同方式连接到发声装置 。整个项目层层递进，强调观众的身体与机器、声音之间的相互作用和联通关系。
题目的灵感来自数学和神经科学中的常用符号Phi（Φ），它是黄金分割的常数、也是认知神经科学中评判系统的复杂程度以及是否会产生“意识”的必要数值。这个数值在由简到繁的系统中，是一个始终可寻的线索。
