WEBVTT

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I was born in Taiwan.

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I grew up surrounded by

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different types of hardware stores,

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and I like going to night markets.

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I love the energy of the night markets,

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the colors, the lights, the toys,

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and all the unexpected things I find every time I go,

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things like watermelon with straw antennas

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or puppies with mohawks.

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When I was growing up, I liked taking toys apart,

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any kind of toys I'd find around the house,

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like my brother's BB gun when he's not home.

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I also liked to make environments

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for people to explore and play.

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In these early installations,

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I would take plastic sheets, plastic bags,

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and things I would find in the hardware store

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or around the house.

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I would take things like highlighter pen,

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mix it with water, pump it through plastic tubing,

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creating these glowing circulatory systems

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for people to walk through and enjoy.

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I like these materials because of the way they look,

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the way they feel, and they're very affordable.

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I also liked to make devices
that work with body parts.

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I would take camera LED lights

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and a bungee cord and strap it on my waist

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and I would videotape my belly button,

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get a different perspective,

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and see what it does.

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(Laughter)

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I also like to modify household appliances.

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This is an automatic night light.

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Some of you might have them at home.

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I would cut out the light sensor,

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add an extension line,

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and use modeling clay,

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stick it onto the television,

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and then I would videotape my eye,

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and using the dark part of my eye

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tricking the sensor into thinking it's night time,

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so you turn on the lightbulb.

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The white of the eye and the eyelid

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will trick the sensor into thinking it's daytime,

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and it will shut off the light.

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I wanted to collect more different types of eyes,

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so I built this device using bicycle helmets,

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some lightbulbs and television sets.

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It would be easier for other
people to wear the helmet

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and record their eyes.

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This device allows me to symbolically

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extract other people's eyes,

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so I have a diversity of eyes to use

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for my other sculptures.

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This sculpture has four eyes.

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Each eye is controlling a different device.

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This eye is turning itself around in a television.

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This eye is inflating a plastic tube.

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This eye is watching a video
of another piece being made.

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And these two eyes are activating glowing water.

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Many of these pieces are later on shown

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in museums, biennials, triennial exhibitions

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around the world.

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I love science and biology.

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In 2007, I was doing a research fellowship

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at the Smithsonian Natural History Museum

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looking at bioluminous organisms in the oean.

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I love these creatures. I love the
way they look, the way they feel.

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They're soft, they're slimy,

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and I was fascinated by the way they use light

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in their environment,

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either to attract mates, for self-defense,

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or to attract food.

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This research inspired my
work in many different ways,

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things like movement or different light patterns.

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So I started gathering a lot of

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different types of material in my studio

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and just experimenting

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and trying this out, trying that out,

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and seeing what types of creatures I can come up with.

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I used a lot of computer cooling fans

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and just kind of put them
together and see what happens.

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This is an 8,000-square-foot installation

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composed of many different creatures,

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some hanging from the ceiling
and some resting on the floor.

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From afar, they look alien-like,

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but when you look closer,

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they're all made out of black garbage bags

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or Tupperware containers.

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I'd like to share with you how ordinary things

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can become something magical and wondrous.

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(Applause)

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Thank you.

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(Applause)