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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)