Ongoing
Past Projects
Miscellaneous
| 2024 | Lóng Lóng |
| 2019 | Stalacite |
As Above, So Below
2023
26'' x 28'' x 55''
Photo credits: Gumi Lu, Bowen Li
Academic Supervisor: David Carroll, Jess Irish
Writing Supervisor: Ethan Silverman
Further thoughts on my extended essay: Peeping at the Universe Bathing: The Consilience of Tao and Modern Physics
#Self-Responsive Mechanism
#Self-Organization
#Cyclic Model
#Daoist Philosophy
#Complex Systems Theory
#Computational Loss
#Fractals
#Self-Similarity#Mutual Arising of the Real and the Virtual#Interconnectedness Across Scales#Complexity of Cosmic Order
As Above, So Below is a self-responsive kinetic sculpture. It establishes a cyclical model based on the architecture of Tao philosophy, that weaves interconnected components into a complex network, unifying them into an inherently organic, ever-changing, indivisible reality.
This piece consists of six layers of dynamic sets of neodymium. It amplifies the weak magnetic field generated by mammalian bio-currents and uses it as an initial drive to manipulate the first layer of magnetic field. The average magnetic field strength of each layer determines the electrical velocity of the motor on the next layer. It flattens the entire self-similar universe of different spatial and temporal scales parts to the same grid and metric plane. The dynamic sets of neodymium on each layer are regarded as physical agents that senses the changes in the previous layer. The physical agents map data and incur computational losses throughout the transformation process. The magnetic field strength of the last layer and the initial drive are calculated with different weights to reactivate the top layer, thus looping and expressing the “empty, but not exhausted” of Tao.
Everything in the universe is interrelated, and the presence and functionality of one level can be mapped to another, as this piece reflects. In order to link things and events on Earth to the more general cosmic order and principles, the six levels of this dynamic process—material, social, biological, living, ecological, and cosmic—shape various organizations and sublevels in the course of generation, interaction, and evolution.
Considering that the degree of disorder of the universe is proportional to the number of possible states of the system with n-bit binary numbers, the rotating aluminum sheet consists of star polygons with 2 to the power of 1 to 6 vertices.
“I first heard the term 'Consilience' from Professor Anne Gaines. It's a concept introduced by the 19th-century British scientist William Whewell and later popularized by the American biologist Edward O. Wilson. Basically, it's about merging knowledge and insights from different disciplines, where evidence and theories from various fields support and validate each other to give a more comprehensive understanding of complex issues. When I noticed the similarities between quantum states and the cosmic principles in the Tao Te Ching, I started thinking about combining these two fields. To understand what 'Tao' is and how it forms, as well as its connection to modern physics, I imagine 'Tao' as a multidimensional map. Energy becomes the coordinate points, the primal sparks from which everything else emerges. Rhythm, the harmonious oscillation of existence, acts as the axis of the universe's rotation. The network is the final stage, illustrating how the world's rhythms come together and operate smoothly. Everything exists within a dynamically connected framework; nothing is isolated. Through continuous interactions over time and space, each harmonious flow contributes to forming a 'collective consciousness field.”
—Excerpt from an interview with Al-Tiba9 Contemporary Art
Gumi Lu/ˈɡuː.mi/
→ Home
→ About / CV
→ Work