New media artist Lin Pey-Chwen was invited to participate in the "Spotlight Taiwan Lecture" at the University of Edinburgh, where she shared insights and societal reflections from her work on "Eve Clone."

By Audrey, Ms. Tu Chi-Wen

Organized by the collaboration between the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan and the University of Edinburgh, the "Spotlight Taiwan Lecture" invited Lin Pey-Chwen to present a lecture at the Art School of the University of Edinburgh. The topic of her talk was "Revelations and Notification of Pey-Chwen Lin’s New Media Art— Eve Clone Series." During the lecture, she shared her recent projects and artworks that have earned international recognition. These include the award-winning piece "Making of Eve Clone I," which received the Global Grand Prize in the New Media Art category at the Florence Biennale in Italy, and the "portrait of Eve Clone" series, selected for the WRO Media Art Biennale in Poland.

The "Spotlight Taiwan Lecture" program at the University of Edinburgh, established in 2014, has recently marked its tenth anniversary. Dr. Yang Chia-Ling, Director of the Ph.D. Program in Art History at the University of Edinburgh's School of Art, has hosted this program for over a decade. With collaborative support from the Ministry of Culture of Taiwan and the University of Edinburgh, the program annually organizes lectures featuring distinguished Taiwanese artists of “Taiwan Spotlight” and directors of the Taiwan Film Festival. Previous artists invited to speak include Hsieh Tehching, Lee Ming-Wei, Cheng Shu-Li, Wu Mali, Yuan Guangming, Chen Chieh-Jen and others, contributing to the international promotion and exchange of contemporary Taiwanese art.

The "Spotlight Taiwan Lecture" program at the University of Edinburgh, established in 2014, has recently marked its tenth anniversary. Dr. Yang Chia-Ling, Director of the Ph.D. Program in Art History at the University of Edinburgh's School of Art, has hosted this program for over a decade. @ PEY-CHWEN LIN

This year, marking the tenth anniversary of the master lecture series, invited the artist Lin Pey-Chwen, who has been active in the international art stage in recent years, to be the keynote speaker. Director Chang Chia-Cheng of the Taiwan Representative Office in Edinburgh also attended the event. The opening remarks were delivered by Professor Carol Richardson of the University of Edinburgh, specializing in the Renaissance period. Professor Richardson was deeply impressed by Lin Pey-Chwen’s works, including "Making of Eve Clone Project I" and the portrait of Eve Clone, which involve the appropriation of Leonardo da Vinci's manu, "Vitruvian Man."

The opening remarks were delivered by Professor Carol Richardson of the University of Edinburgh, specializing in the Renaissance period. @ PEY-CHWEN LIN

Pey-Chwen Lin’s digital audio and video installation, Making of Eve CLone I, was awarded the First Prize in the category of New Media Art at the 2019 Florence Biennale in Italy. @ PEY-CHWEN LIN

Lin Pey-Chwen’s lecture opened with a documentary short film showcasing her solo exhibition "Revelation of Eve Clone," held at the Tainan Art Museum from 2019 to 2020. The film guided the attending audience through an immersive journey, experiencing the diverse evolution of Eve Clone from creation to the exploration of different facets. The "Eve Clone Series," initiated in 2006, features utopian female figures crafted through the fusion of nature and artificial cyborgs. It effectively conveys that Lin Pey-Chwen's work, while seemingly celebrating the beauty of the digital and artificial creative world, actually serves as satire. This satire addresses the ways in which technological advancements have already constrained and harmed humanity, as well as how societal stereotypes impressions and constraints imposed on the female body. In her creative process, Lin Pey-Chwen incorporates religious texts, such as the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Additionally, she integrates post-human forms to convey a perspective within digital feminism. The perfect Eve Clone created through technology serves as a lens to explore issues such as gender, technology, society, and culture, while prompting a profound reflection on humanity's excessive dependence on technology.

Lin Pey-Chwen’s lecture opened with a documentary short film showcasing her solo exhibition "Revelation of Eve Clone," held at the Tainan Art Museum from 2019 to 2020. @ PEY-CHWEN LIN

The presentation also reviews the entire context of Lin Pey-Chwen's "Eve Clone" series, illustrating how Eve Clone is crafted from a virtual cortex, giving birth to the "Eve Clone Portrait." By appropriating Leonardo da Vinci's renowned work "Vitruvian Man" to create perfect body proportions in "Making of Eve Clone I," the complete image of Eve Clone is endowed. Subsequently, through interactive computer devices, a new phase of interaction between Eve Clone and humans is initiated. This involves capturing human expressions using facial recognition and motion capture systems, enabling "Eve Clone" to mimic human facial expressions and emotions, as seen in "Making of Eve Clone II." Another approach involves infusing life energy into Eve Clone through audience sensing, making it more dynamic in works like "Big Image of Eve Clone."

This involves capturing human expressions using facial recognition and motion capture systems, enabling "Eve Clone" to mimic human facial expressions and emotions, as seen in "Making of Eve Clone II. @ PEY-CHWEN LIN

Another approach involves infusing life energy into Eve Clone through audience sensing, making it more dynamic in works like "Big Image of Eve Clone." @ PEY-CHWEN LIN

In over a decade of the "Eve Clone Sereis," Lin Pey-Chwen has demonstrated a remarkable artistic expressive ability and sensitivity to the aesthetics of technology. Through dedicated technology development and research, she continuously elevates the creative depth and conceptual scale of her works, maintaining a strong satirical and critical stance on societal and political issues. For instance, the latest work shared in the speech, "Eve Clone Wannsee Conference” in 2023, employs advanced AI machine learning algorithms and 3D modeling software. This is used to create more lifelike facial features for "Eve Clone," especially in the representation of political, technological, and social figures like Putin, Kim Jong-un, Xi Jinping, Biden and Zuckerberg. The speech concludes with the artist using a voice recognition system to synchronize the speeches of these figures with corresponding facial expressions. When these images are collectively placed in one space, the constant uproar and cacophony serve to satirize the boundless political ambitions and desires of political figures.

For instance, the latest work shared in the speech, "Eve Clone Wannsee Conference” in 2023, employs advanced AI machine learning algorithms and 3D modeling software. @ PEY-CHWEN LIN

In this lecture, there was enthusiastic attendance from students, faculty, museum members, and the general public at the University of Edinburgh, filling the venue to capacity. Following the speech, Lin Pey-Chwen engaged with questions from the audience, creating a vibrant atmosphere for discussion. Many students and teachers participated in a post-lecture tea gathering, offering an opportunity for close interaction with the artist, additional inquiries, and exchanges. It is evident that Lin Pey-Chwen, representing new media art through "Eve Clone," has resonated with the audience. This not only stands as a testament to Taiwan's outstanding and exquisite creative capabilities in new media art but also serves as a form of cultural diplomacy. Through the inspiration and societal awareness brought by "Eve Clone," Lin Pey-Chwen has played a significant role in establishing a high-quality and aesthetically cultivated international image for Taiwan.

In this lecture, there was enthusiastic attendance from students, faculty, museum members, and the general public at the University of Edinburgh, filling the venue to capacity. @ PEY-CHWEN LIN

Mr. Chang Chia-Cheng, Director of the Taiwan Representative Office in Edinburgh, Secretary Ho Hui-Lin, and the author of the article Ms. Tu Chi-Wen Audrey. @ PEY-CHWEN LIN

It is evident that Lin Pey-Chwen, representing new media art through "Eve Clone," has resonated with the audience. @ PEY-CHWEN LIN

Abstract of the lecture by Lin Pey-Chwen

I will share the concept and the video of my solo exhibition “Revelation of Eve Clone” held at the Tainan Art Museum 2019- 2020, as well as my new work “Eve Clone Wannsee Conference” in the 2023 Spotlight Taiwan Lecture. The curator of my solo Dr. Ming Turner stated that Pey-Chwen Lin began her “Eve Clone” series in 2006, introducing a sequence of artworks that convey the artist’s imagination and interpretation of the posthuman, and especially that of posthuman female bodies. This series conveys both femininity and religious symbolism. Although the creation of Lin’s works applied lots of digital techniques, she is actually being critical of the negative impact of technology on modern human society. Her works present insightful views and thoughts about the increasingly important contemporary cultural issues of gender, technology and art.

In my solo exhibition, alongside showcasing my “Portrait of Eve Clone” series, which was selected for the prestigious WRO Media Art Biennale in Poland, and the award-winning “Making of Eve Clone I” which received the first prize in the “New Media Art” category at the Florence Biennale in Italy, there is a special large-scale interactive installation titled “Big Image of Eve Clone.” This artwork presents the evolutionary process of “Eve Clone” and the symbiotic relationship between humans and their worship of “Eve Clone”. Another piece, “Making of Eve Clone II,” incorporates facial recognition and facial motion capture systems, inviting the audience to interact in real-time and showcasing how “Eve Clone” has advanced in learning human emotions and expressions with her artificial life. Due to this AI artwork, I initiate the new series for 2023 “Eve Clone Wannsee Conference.”

In this new series, I employ AI machine learning algorithms and 3D modelling software to create more realistic facial features for the “Eve Clones.” I synthesize the faces of these “Eve Clones” with portraits of influential figures from different eras and domains such as politics, technology, and culture, including individuals like Hitler, Putin, Bill Gates, and more. Simultaneously, through a speech recognition system, I convert the speeches of these individuals into corresponding facial expressions, creating these “Eve Clones” with different appearances and expressions who incessantly propagate their desires. Finally, these “Eve Clone” speech videos are installed within the same exhibition space, satirically depicting their attempt and actions in the “Wannsee Conference.”

“Making of Eve Clone III” is a large video mapping projection that incorporates texts from the biblical books of Daniel and Revelation, as well as the divine message proclaimed by the prophet Elijah Hong for this generation. The videos “Great Babylon” and “Revelation of Eve Clone IV” have been carried by the screen monitors and installed in the space. The plot of the videos and the projected texts intersect and resonate with each other, making powerfully and significant revelations of biblical prophecy in the end times.

(Special thanks to Dr. Ming Turner, the curator of my solo exhibition at the Tainan Art Museum, and the members of my Digital Art Lab. Ching-Shiang Hu, Sheng-Chieh Wang, Bo-Wei Wu, Allen Wang)

REFERENCE

「台灣光點」連結
林珮淳網站連結
Taiwan Spotlight
Lin Pey-Chwen