Initial Psalm

Huang Siying

黄思颖

Production date
2013

Object Detail

Media
computer-generated video(colour, sound), 3D printed photopolymer
Measurements
video 1 min 48 sec
3D prints, 5 pieces, each 20 x 20 x 20 cm
2D prints, 5 pieces, each 25 x 17 cm, 1 piece 25 x 5 cm
Notes
The body of work titled Initial Psalm (2013) comprises five 3D printed sculptures, a set of six prints depicting cross-sections of the sculptures, and a video produced in collaboration with sound artist Gao Jiafeng. Gao composed a hypnotic score featuring a didgeridoo, a sound he believed was ‘primal’ and communicated the building, explosive energy of labour and childbirth. The data from individual infants generated the forty keyframes of the video, extended with transitional frames into an immersive and trance-like experience made up of 2,400 frames, morphing on a continuous loop in the dark of the gallery space. Ornate shapes dissolve and then kaleidoscopically reform, recalling architectural forms of domes and vaults, crystal formations, or scans of the internal structures of the body. The rhythmic soundtrack evokes the beating of the heart and the flow of blood around the body. Huang’s installation exemplifies Deleuze’s theories of difference: nothing ever remains the same, a copy is something entirely new. The world is in constant flux, and teeming with energy.
Initial Psalm is a song of praise to the universe. Huang Siying sees no disabling disjunction between the roles of the artist and the scientist: ‘Under the guidance of new science, people can finally track down the true face of nature beyond words, and the most sophisticated design: organic life.’
Accession number
2016.044
Artist details